Government

MMBC Welcomes Six New Directors Meetings Mean Business Canada has expanded its volunteer board of directors with the addition of six new members. The appointments bring MMBC’s total board seats to 16 following a motion passed during the 2021 Annual General Meeting allowing a maximum of 20 board members.  “I’d like to personally welcome our new board members,” says MMBC Chair, Laura Pallotta. “Members of our volunteer board bring decades of valuable industry experience as well as a commitment to MMBC’s mission as a united voice for Canada’s business events industry.” Click here to meet [...]

Minister Boissonnault’s Tourism Growth Strategy Roundtable On May 25, 2022, MMBC Chair Laura Pallotta participated in a roundtable hosted by Minister of Tourism Randy Boissonnault. The discussion focused on tourism attraction investment and was attended by industry leaders from across Canada. The federal government is consulting with the industry as it develops its new Tourism Growth Strategy. During the wide-ranging discussion, participants brainstormed how to overcome existing barriers to investment as well as suggesting incentives that would attract critically needed private investment. Pallotta conveyed why business events need to be a central pillar of the federal strategy, how [...]

New Study To Measure Business Events Impacts Destination Canada Business Events (DCBE) has commissioned a legacy impact study for Canada’s business events industry. “There's no denying the powerful tourism benefits that business events bring to a destination — but their impact extends well beyond that. For instance, [events] can open the door to transformative collaborations, unlock trade and investment opportunities, spur innovation and attract top-notch talent from around the world,” DCBE said in a statement. “While there's plenty of anecdotal evidence on this, we’ve lacked concrete data to prove the long-term outcomes [...]

Federal Supports Still Needed By Hardest-Hit Businesses Meetings Mean Business Canada is gratified that the federal government, in the 2022 Budget released April 7, acknowledges the visitor economy as “a key economic driver and job creator” while also recognizing the devastating effects that the pandemic has had on the tourism industry as a whole. Meetings Mean Business Canada wishes to clarify any misconceptions around a statement made in the budget document that “Canada’s high vaccination rate and the lifting of travel restrictions are providing important relief as the sector begins to turn the corner.” Canada’s visitor economy, [...]

Global Meetings Industry Day 2022 #TimeToMeet Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) is an annual event recognizing the meetings and business events industry’s role as a catalyst for business collaboration, new investment and the creation of permanent, high-value jobs. This year we’re celebrating Global Meetings Industry Day a bit differently. Instead of holding our own event, we’re supporting YOUR GMID 2022 programs with a suite of educational and promotional materials: Advocacy Video: We’re creating a new video to spotlight the latest research, our industry’s readiness to get back to business and a call for continued support [...]

Advocacy Achievements During 2021, Canada’s meetings and business events industry rallied to advocate on behalf of its hardest hit businesses and to kickstart recovery. Here are some of the year’s key advocacy achievements: Bill C-2 provides important visitor economy recovery programs and supports, including: > Tourism & Hospitality Recovery Program > Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program > Canada Recovery Hiring Program Federal Representation: The Trudeau government appointed Randy Boissonnault as both Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, a acknowledgement of the tourism industry’s important contribution to Canada’s economy. Border Reopening: Canada reopened its [...]

2022 Will Be A Pivotal Year For Canada’s Business Events Industry MMBC’s active leadership and united voice with our coalition partners over the past 12 months resulted in important industry-specific federal support, including tailored programs within Bill C-2. Nevertheless, our industry began 2022 with new pandemic-related shutdowns and restrictions, placing our hardest-hit businesses in jeopardy. Our advocacy work is more important than ever! We need your input to prioritize the key issues and concerns we will communicate to elected officials and decision makers at all levels of government over the next several months. Please take [...]

MMBC Elects Board of Directors and Appoints Executive Team for 2022 and 2023 During its recent annual general meeting, Meetings Mean Business Canada (MMBC) welcomed an updated Board of Directors and Executive Team for 2022 and 2023. As Canada’s meetings and business events industry moves forward, MMBC’s advocacy efforts will benefit immensely from the decades of executive experience offered by the leadership team and newly convened board. Two-year terms for Board members as well as the Executive Team began immediately following MMBC’s annual general meeting, held in Ottawa on November 29, 2021.  Laura Pallotta takes on [...]