Before an emergency measure such as a travel ban is ordered, we are asking that the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness create an enhanced set of criteria and advanced analytical tools before
implementing an emergency measure as serious and significant as a travel ban, including but not limited to:
• Determining how many evacuees require shelter / hotel rooms by analyzing information provided by
evacuees on the Evacuee Registration and Assistance (ERA) site, and at physical evacuation centres;
• Identifying where evacuees work, such as neighbouring communities, in order to tailor any travel ban
to those areas most likely to be used by evacuees;
• Contacting the local governments and tourism associations in communities that may be required to
house evacuees in order to determine their current capacity/occupancy;
• Utilizing large public facilities for initial evacuee shelter space before moving into privately owned
accommodations such as hotels and motels so that demand can be more accurately measured;
• Providing market-value compensation to privately-owned accommodators for any and all room nights
affected by emergency measures that are not subsequently occupied by evacuees or emergency
personnel. This would ensure that private operators do not suffer financial hardship and adds a level of
accountability for the government.
Last August's economically devastating travel ban throughout the South Okanagan did not see any significant number of evacuees utilize accommodations that were forced into vacancy because of the travel ban, resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenues, including the cancellation of the world-renowned Ironman Triathlon.
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- Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation
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Economic Development and Trade, Emergency Preparedness, Employment and Training, Small Business, Sports and Recreation, Tourism, Transportation
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