Licence Tribunal
Appeal d'appel en Tribunal matière de permis
DATE: 2015-07-14
FILE: 9437/TIA
CASE NAME: 9437 v. Registrar, Travel Industry Act 2002
An Appeal from a Notice of Proposal by the Registrar, Travel Industry Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sch. D – dated February 19, 2015, to Revoke Registration
ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours Appellant
-and-
Registrar, Travel Industry Act, 2002 Respondent
CONSENT ORDER
CONSENT ORDER
Upon the application to the Tribunal by ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours, the Appellant, and the Registrar, under the Travel Industry Act, 2002, for issuance of a Consent Order of the Tribunal without a hearing pursuant to section 4.1 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.22; and
Having reviewed the written settlement signed by the Appellant and the Registrar, Travel Industry Act, 2002 as to the disposition of these proceedings which is filed and attached hereto as Schedule “A”;
NOW THEREFORE, upon consent of the parties, this Tribunal orders that the proceedings in this matter are concluded and disposed of without a hearing on the basis of the terms set out in the said Schedule “A”, which are incorporated into and made part of this Order.
LICENCE APPEAL TRIBUNAL
Patricia McQuaid, Vice-Chair
RELEASED: July 14, 2015
SCHEDULE "A"
Licence Appeal Tribunal
ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours Applicant
AND
REGISTRAR, TRAVEL INDUSTRY ACT, 2002 Respondent
MINUTES OF SETTLEMENT
WHEREAS ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours located at 901 Yonge Street, Suite 202, Toronto, ON M4W 2H2, is a travel agent (Registration No. 50011393) registered on January 13, 2003, under the Travel Industry Act, 2002 ("the Act") and Ontario Regulation 26/05 made under the Act (the “Regulation”);
AND WHEREAS the Registrar issued the Notice of Proposal to Revoke Registration of ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours on February 19, 2015 (“NOP”), for the reason ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours is and has been carrying on activities that are in contravention of the Act and the Regulation;
AND WHEREAS ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours (the Registrant or ISX) appealed the NOP to the Licence Appeal Tribunal;
AND WHEREAS the NOP was issued for a failure of the ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours to file financial statements for the year ending August 31, 2014, working capital non-compliances and trust account non-compliances, in breach of the Act and the Regulation.
AND WHEREAS the parties agreed to settle all of the issues outstanding in the appeal on the following terms and conditions:
The parties consent to an Order of the Licence Appeal Tribunal incorporating the terms of these Minutes of Settlement and disposing of these proceedings without a hearing.
The Registrant accepts the allegations stated in the NOP as proven and undertakes the following steps to resolve the issues outlined in the NOP.
The Registrant must maintain its trust account in accordance with the Act and the Regulation and Trust Accounting Guidelines.
The Registrant shall submit to TICO its monthly trust reconciliation (a reconciliation showing total receipts from customers for travel services sold less payments for the related travel services compared to trust funds held in the Trust Account) for the months of July through to and including September 2015, or until such other time as the Registrar indicates. The Trust Reconciliations shall comply with the following requirements:
a. Each Trust Reconciliation is to be submitted within 30 days from the end of the each month. For example, the Trust Reconciliation for July 2015 is due August 31, 2015;
b. Each Trust Reconciliation shall include a list of consumer deposits on hand and a list of any pre-paid suppliers related to the moneys received form consumers;
c. The Trust Reconciliation shall include a copy of the Travel Industry Act Trust bank account statement for the reporting month.
The Registrant must continue working with TICO staff to correct all invoicing deficiencies as specified by TICO staff. The Registrant’s invoicing shall be fully compliant with section 36 and 38 of the Regulation not later than July 31, 2015.
TICO will conduct another inspection of the Registrant in order to ensure working capital, invoicing and trust accounting compliance within the next year.
The Registrant must file its Compensation Fund Contributions (Form 1 Remittances) in accordance with Compensation Fund Contributions (Form 1 Remittance) Industry Guidelines, which can be found on TICO website: www.tico.ca.
The Registrant shall file any and all annual financial statements for each fiscal year prepared by a public accountant licensed under the Public Accountancy Act, 2004 and accompanied by a Review Engagement Report or an Audit Opinion as required by the Regulation within 3 months after the end of the fiscal year.
Each and every annual financial statement filed with TICO shall disclose the trust position at the end of the year. The statement with respect to the trust position shall include the balance in the Travel Industry Act Trust Account at the year end, customer deposits liability, plus any other balances that are included in the trust position. If the customer deposits are nil at the year end, then it must be disclosed as such.
The Registrant shall respond to TICO inquiries and requests within a reasonable time.
The Registrant shall advise TICO of changes outlined in sections 16 and 17 of the Regulation within the time prescribed in those sections.
The Registrant shall, at all times, maintain the minimum working capital as required by section 24 of the Regulation. If based on the financial statements submitted by the Registrant, the Registrar concludes that the working capital of the Registrant is not in compliance with s. 24 of the Regulation, the Registrant shall take the necessary steps to correct its working capital position and submit proof thereof within 14 days from the request by the Registrar.
The shareholders of the Registrant shall ensure that loans and/or advances to ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours will not be withdrawn until such time as it can be done without reducing working capital below the minimum amount required by the Act and the Regulation.
In the event ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours decides to discontinue operations, any claims against the Ontario Travel Industry Compensation Fund are to be fully satisfied before shareholder loans can be repaid.
ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours and the undersigned, acknowledge that we have read, understand and will comply with the terms of these Minutes of Settlement.
ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours further acknowledges that it has obtained or has had full opportunity to obtain independent legal advice with respect to the terms of these Minutes of Settlement and their legal effect and impact and further undertakes to comply with them.
SIGNED THIS DAY OF , 2015
Mr. Leslie A Zulauf, Manager/Director
Mr. Richard Smart
ISX International Student Exchange of Canada Ltd. o/a IST International Student Tours
Registrar, Travel Industry Act, 2002
I have the authority to bind the corporation