PCs halt price hike for Ontario highway tourism signs
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Sudbury, ONTARIO - December 29, 2018 (LSN) The province will not be going ahead in 2019 with planned price hikes for the blue tourism signs that dot Ontario's highways after all.
The Progressive Conservative government "heard clearly from tourism operators across the province" that they were unhappy the fee increase, said Michael Tibollo, minister for tourism, culture and sport, in a statement Thursday report the Northeastern Tourism in thier News Letter.
Ontario's Government for the People is making life more affordable by bringing relief to Ontario's tourism operators who rely on the province's Tourism-Oriented Directional Signing Program (TODS) to generate a positive economic impact in their local communities.
In April 2018, the previous government signed a contract with Canadian TODS Limited towards the end of their administration. The people of Ontario have expressed their concerns about this contract, and the significant fee increases being placed on small business owners across the province.
Ontario's Government for the People is listening to the province's small business owners and tourism operators. We have worked with Canadian TODS Limited - the third party responsible for the delivery and maintenance of the TODS program - to freeze all price increases for 2019.
"Our Government for the People has heard clearly from tourism operators across the province about their concerns regarding the fee increases associated with the TODS program. The previous government deliberately froze prices for 10 years, ignoring the cost of inflation, and completely failed to communicate with TODS customers," said Michael Tibollo, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. "We are taking real action to ensure businesses and customers have time to adjust to the increased prices, and we look forward to continuing to work with Canadian TODS Limited over the coming year to look for ways we can help mitigate this price increase."
The TODS program is designed to provide motorists with signage on provincial highways to direct visitors to tourist attractions, operations and services.
"Our Government for the People was elected on June 7 with a clear mandate to respect the taxpayers of this province and to restore trust and accountability in the province's finances," said Jeff Yurek, Minister of Transportation. "We heard loud and clear from small business owners across Ontario, and have fixed a problem that the previous government created. Today we're providing relief to small business owners, as we do our part in promoting and strengthening tourism in Ontario."
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