Mr. Speaker, I rise in this Honourable House to advise that applications are now being accepted for the new Tourism and Hospitality Support Program.

This $25 million program will provide financial assistance to eligible tourism and hospitality operators impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Speaker, conversations with industry and stakeholders made it clear that businesses and operators are facing many critical issues, such as cash-flow challenges, cancelled contracts, and loss of down payments for events due to travel restrictions.

The Tourism and Hospitality Support Program will allow eligible tourism operators to apply for a one-time non-repayable working capital contribution. Those with less than $100,000 in gross sales will receive a $5,000 contribution, while those with greater than $100,000 in gross sales, will receive a $10,000 contribution.

Mr. Speaker, we know that a mix of supports is required to tackle some of the industry challenges arising from the pandemic, which is why we developed this short-term program to complement existing emergency supports announced by the Government of Canada to address the impacts of COVID-19.

The tourism and hospitality industry provides over 20,000 jobs, and supports more than 2,700 businesses throughout our province. Our government recognizes the tremendous value of the industry in Newfoundland and Labrador and this new program commitment aims to provide some relief to many operators.

I encourage eligible operators to visit the Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation website to learn more about the program.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.