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Calgary Hotels Open for Now

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What does a “state of emergency” mean for tourism in our city

Over the last number of days we have seen closures of many different services and businesses. We are all curious about what will still be available in the coming weeks. In the meantime it seems as though hotels and hostels in Calgary will continue to keep their doors open for now.

Calgary has one of the highest concentrations of head offices in Canada. Many of the large organisations are owned by foreign bodies, relationships with foreign diplomats or have senior chartered professionals travel through our airport. We host various events and summits over the year that draw large crowds of people from across the globe. The most undeniable example is the Calgary Stampede, which recently announced a loss of 80% of their workforce due to rising concerns in the spread of Covid-19. Their organisers are working closely with Calgary Emergency Management Agency and the Alberta Health Services. Check out their full update here.

We are used to a high intake of tourists over the summer months of the year. According to VisitCalgary.com Q4 report from 2019 we welcomed just under 18 million people through our Calgary International Airport. 

How Covid-19 is affecting our hotel industry

We have 74 hotels in Calgary with more in towns like Cochrane and Airdrie. In the same report from VisitCalgary.com, their data shows that hotels in Calgary sold over 3.3 million rooms in 2019. If we look at the effects of what a travel restriction can do to our economy, we will see a dramatic reduction in tourists spending money in our city. 

Following orders from the City of Calgary, Grey Eagle Casino has temporarily closed their doors, in light of this direction a message from the General Manager Martin Brickstock stated: 

“This closure notice becomes effective immediately. We anticipate this closure will be until further notice, but we promise to provide consistent updates as information becomes available.

We look forward to inviting everyone back when we reopen. Please take care and be safe.

Please note that Grey Eagle Hotel will remain open”

Other well known institutions who have multiple locations throughout Calgary have offered updates on their services. They are also making arrangements for last minute cancellations from people who have had their travel itineraries disrupted. It is difficult to know how this will play out in the coming weeks however they are taking every available step to ensure the highest standard of hygiene. 

Marriott Hotels – Covid-19 Update

Hyatt Hotels – Covid-19 Update

Hilton Hotels – Hilton’s Commitment to you

Wyndham Hotels – Covid-19 Update

Sandman Hotel Group – Our respond to coronavirus (Covid-19)

In other countries there have been major closures of major hotel chains. Suspending of recreational facilities seems to be the norm for now. An article from the New York Post states that some major names are shutting their doors. Could be evidence that we could be following suit in the coming weeks.

Major hotel chains shutting down due to coronavirus pandemic

        (NY Post – Lisa Fickensher – March 17th 2020)

Keep yourself in the loop aware of updates on the situation here in Calgary with Alberta Health Services or their self screen application. It is difficult to know what kind of pressure has been placed upon major businesses in our city on how they react. Every step is being taken to continue business. Calgary Economic Development is striving to keep our businesses aware of any updates in policy or guidelines. You can keep yourself in the loop by visiting their website – Calgary Economic Development Covid-19 Updates and Resources

For more stories, visit – Todayville Calgary

Business

Dallas mayor invites NYers to first ‘sanctuary city from socialism’

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From The Center Square

By

After the self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for mayor in New York, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson invited New Yorkers and others to move to Dallas.

Mamdani has vowed to implement a wide range of tax increases on corporations and property and to “shift the tax burden” to “richer and whiter neighborhoods.”

New York businesses and individuals have already been relocating to states like Texas, which has no corporate or personal income taxes.

Johnson, a Black mayor and former Democrat, switched parties to become a Republican in 2023 after opposing a city council tax hike, The Center Square reported.

“Dear Concerned New York City Resident or Business Owner: Don’t panic,” Johnson said. “Just move to Dallas, where we strongly support our police, value our partners in the business community, embrace free markets, shun excessive regulation, and protect the American Dream!”

Fortune 500 companies and others in recent years continue to relocate their headquarters to Dallas; it’s also home to the new Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE). The TXSE will provide an alternative to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq and there are already more finance professionals in Texas than in New York, TXSE Group Inc. founder and CEO James Lee argues.

From 2020-2023, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA reported the greatest percentage of growth in the country of 34%, The Center Square reported.

Johnson on Thursday continued his invitation to New Yorkers and others living in “socialist” sanctuary cities, saying on social media, “If your city is (or is about to be) a sanctuary for criminals, mayhem, job-killing regulations, and failed socialist experiments, I have a modest invitation for you: MOVE TO DALLAS. You can call us the nation’s first official ‘Sanctuary City from Socialism.’”

“We value free enterprise, law and order, and our first responders. Common sense and the American Dream still reside here. We have all your big-city comforts and conveniences without the suffocating vice grip of government bureaucrats.”

As many Democratic-led cities joined a movement to defund their police departments, Johnson prioritized police funding and supporting law and order.

“Back in the 1800s, people moving to Texas for greater opportunities would etch ‘GTT’ for ‘Gone to Texas’ on their doors moving to the Mexican colony of Tejas,” Johnson continued, referring to Americans who moved to the Mexican colony of Tejas to acquire land grants from the Mexican government.

“If you’re a New Yorker heading to Dallas, maybe try ‘GTD’ to let fellow lovers of law and order know where you’ve gone,” Johnson said.

Modern-day GTT movers, including a large number of New Yorkers, cite high personal income taxes, high property taxes, high costs of living, high crime, and other factors as their reasons for leaving their states and moving to Texas, according to multiple reports over the last few years.

In response to Johnson’s invitation, Gov. Greg Abbott said, “Dallas is the first self-declared “Sanctuary City from Socialism. The State of Texas will provide whatever support is needed to fulfill that mission.”

The governor has already been doing this by signing pro-business bills into law and awarding Texas Enterprise Grants to businesses that relocate or expand operations in Texas, many of which are doing so in the Dallas area.

“Texas truly is the Best State for Business and stands as a model for the nation,” Abbott said. “Freedom is a magnet, and Texas offers entrepreneurs and hardworking Texans the freedom to succeed. When choosing where to relocate or expand their businesses, more innovative industry leaders recognize the competitive advantages found only in Texas. The nation’s leading CEOs continually cite our pro-growth economic policies – with no corporate income tax and no personal income tax – along with our young, skilled, diverse, and growing workforce, easy access to global markets, robust infrastructure, and predictable business-friendly regulations.”

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National dental program likely more costly than advertised

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From the Fraser Institute

By Matthew Lau

At the beginning of June, the Canadian Dental Care Plan expanded to include all eligible adults. To be eligible, you must: not have access to dental insurance, have filed your 2024 tax return in Canada, have an adjusted family net income under $90,000, and be a Canadian resident for tax purposes.

As a result, millions more Canadians will be able to access certain dental services at reduced—or no—out-of-pocket costs, as government shoves the costs onto the backs of taxpayers. The first half of the proposition, accessing services at reduced or no out-of-pocket costs, is always popular; the second half, paying higher taxes, is less so.

A Leger poll conducted in 2022 found 72 per cent of Canadians supported a national dental program for Canadians with family incomes up to $90,000—but when asked whether they would support the program if it’s paid for by an increase in the sales tax, support fell to 42 per cent. The taxpayer burden is considerable; when first announced two years ago, the estimated price tag was $13 billion over five years, and then $4.4 billion ongoing.

Already, there are signs the final cost to taxpayers will far exceed these estimates. Dr. Maneesh Jain, the immediate past-president of the Ontario Dental Association, has pointed out that according to Health Canada the average patient saved more than $850 in out-of-pocket costs in the program’s first year. However, the Trudeau government’s initial projections in the 2023 federal budget amounted to $280 per eligible Canadian per year.

Not all eligible Canadians will necessarily access dental services every year, but the massive gap between $850 and $280 suggests the initial price tag may well have understated taxpayer costs—a habit of the federal government, which over the past decade has routinely spent above its initial projections and consistently revises its spending estimates higher with each fiscal update.

To make matters worse there are also significant administrative costs. According to a story in Canadian Affairs, “Dental associations across Canada are flagging concerns with the plan’s structure and sustainability. They say the Canadian Dental Care Plan imposes significant administrative burdens on dentists, and that the majority of eligible patients are being denied care for complex dental treatments.”

Determining eligibility and coverage is a huge burden. Canadians must first apply through the government portal, then wait weeks for Sun Life (the insurer selected by the federal government) to confirm their eligibility and coverage. Unless dentists refuse to provide treatment until they have that confirmation, they or their staff must sometimes chase down patients after the fact for any co-pay or fees not covered.

Moreover, family income determines coverage eligibility, but even if patients are enrolled in the government program, dentists may not be able to access this information quickly. This leaves dentists in what Dr. Hans Herchen, president of the Alberta Dental Association, describes as the “very awkward spot” of having to verify their patients’ family income.

Dentists must also try to explain the program, which features high rejection rates, to patients. According to Dr. Anita Gartner, president of the British Columbia Dental Association, more than half of applications for complex treatment are rejected without explanation. This reduces trust in the government program.

Finally, the program creates “moral hazard” where people are encouraged to take riskier behaviour because they do not bear the full costs. For example, while we can significantly curtail tooth decay by diligent toothbrushing and flossing, people might be encouraged to neglect these activities if their dental services are paid by taxpayers instead of out-of-pocket. It’s a principle of basic economics that socializing costs will encourage people to incur higher costs than is really appropriate (see Canada’s health-care system).

At a projected ongoing cost of $4.4 billion to taxpayers, the newly expanded national dental program is already not cheap. Alas, not only may the true taxpayer cost be much higher than this initial projection, but like many other government initiatives, the dental program already seems to be more costly than initially advertised.

Matthew Lau

Adjunct Scholar, Fraser Institute
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