Mar 25, 2020

Starting today, Boating Industry Canada News Week will be working closely with NMMA Canada and Canada’s other regional marine trades associations to provide an ongoing summary of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation that matters most to our industry.

Things are changing daily. Bulletins will come out as the news breaks.

NMMA Canada is actively monitoring government announcements for their relevance to our industry. In our continued proactive outreach, NMMA Canada and all of the marine trade associations have sent a letter to Finance Minister Morneau to advocate for specific support to the boating industry in the coming weeks and months. You can view the letter here.  We are also communicating with the other associations that make up the Canadian Outdoor Recreation Roundtable to coordinate efforts to support the outdoor industry.

The federal government has also issued a ‘Call to Action’ for manufacturers that can help meet the growing need for medical supplies such as masks, surgical gowns, and ventilators. If you believe that your manufacturing operation can rapidly re-tool to produce these items, please visit this site to apply.The Ontario government has put out a similar appeal, which can be found here.  If you are considering applying for either of these initiatives, please let us know and we can help push it with government.

Yesterday, the Ontario government ordered the closure of non-essential workplaces to protect public health and safety during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The order comes into effect at 11:59pm tonight (Tuesday, March 24th). Please follow this link to see the list of essential workplaces that can remain open. 

Here are the highlights pertaining to the recreational boating sector: 

• Gas stations, diesel, propane and heating fuel providers including providers of motor vehicle, aircraft and water/marine craft fuels;
• Motor vehicle, auto-supply, auto and motor-vehicle-repair, including bicycle repair, aircraft repair, heavy equipment repair, watercraft/marine craft repairs, car and truck dealerships and related facilities;
• Businesses that extract, manufacture, process and distribute goods, products, equipment and materials, including businesses that manufacture inputs to other manufacturers (e.g. primary metal/ steel, blow molding, component manufacturers, chemicals, etc. that feed the end-product manufacturer).

The Quebec government also recently issued a mandatory order to close all non-essential businesses — the list can be found here.

Finally, we have learned today that Parks Canada will be suspending all motor vehicle access to national parks effective 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, March 25th (see tweet with video message from Parks Canada here). 

NMMA Canada is here to serve as a resource for the marine industry throughout this crisis. Please let us know of any changes or ways that we can further support your business over the course of the next few months. If you have questions, you can contact Sara Anghel (sanghel@nmma.org) or Jim Wielgosz (jwielgosz@nmma.org ).