Licence Tribunal
Appeal d'appel en
Tribunal matière de permis
DATE:
2015-09-24
FILE:
9427/TIA
CASE NAME:
9427 v. Registrar, Travel Industry Act, 2002
Appeal of a Proposal of the Registrar under the Travel Industry Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sch. D to Revoke Registration
1367155 Ontario Inc. o/a Celestial Travel
Appellant
-and-
Registrar, Travel Industry Act, 2002
Respondent
ORDER
ADJUDICATOR:
Laurie Sanford, Vice-Chair
APPEARANCES:
For the Appellant:
Claudia Reeves, Agent
For the Respondent:
Soussanna Karas, Counsel
Heard in Toronto:
September 9, 2015
ORDER
This hearing arises in the course of an appeal to this Tribunal by 1367155 Ontario Inc. o/a Celestial Travel from a Notice of Proposal to Revoke Registration issued by the Registrar, Travel Industry Act, 2002.
At the outset of the hearing, the parties advised that they had settled the issues between them and wished to file Minutes of Settlement.
Accordingly, the Tribunal orders and stipulates that the parties have settled the issues between them in accordance with the attached Minutes of Settlement. This concludes the matter.
LICENCE APPEAL TRIBUNAL
Laurie Sanford, Vice-Chair
Released: September 24, 2015
Schedule ‘A’
Licence Appeal Tribunal
1367155 ONTARIO INC.
o/a CELESTIAL TRAVEL
Applicant
AND
REGISTRAR, TRAVEL INDUSTRY ACT, 2002
Respondent
MINUTES OF SETTLEMENT
WHEREAS 1367155 Ontario Inc. o/a Celestial Travel located at 1118A Wilson Ave, Suite 204, Toronto, ON M3M 1G7, is a travel agent (Registration No. 50006611) registered on August 20, 1999, 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 against 1367155 Ontario Inc. o/a Celestial Travel on January 9, 2015 (“NOP”), for the reason 1367155 Ontario Inc. o/a Celestial Travel is and has been carrying on activities that are in contravention of the Act and the Regulation;
AND WHEREAS 1367155 Ontario Inc. o/a Celestial Travel appealed the NOP to the Licence Appeal Tribunal;
AND WHEREAS the NOP was issued for a failure of the 1367155 Ontario Inc. o/a Celestial Travel to properly supervise its Outside Sales Agent, Judy Jackson, which resulted in consumer losses and other reasons.
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 outstanding receipts from customers for the related travel services compared to trust funds held in the Trust Account) for the months of September through to and including November 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 45 days from the end of the each month. For example, the Trust Reconciliation for September 2015 is due November 15, 2015;
b. Each Trust Reconciliation shall include a list of consumer deposits on hand and a listing by customer name/Invoice number, date paid and amount related to any partial supplier payment related to the moneys received form consumers, if applicable.
c. The Trust Reconciliation shall include a copy of the Travel Industry Act Trust bank account statement for the particular month.
The Registrant and the principal of the Registrant, are responsible for the actions of all counsellors employed by the Registrant and persons on contract who are selling or providing advice, regarding the sale of travel services, including employees and/or contractors who are acting as "outside sales representatives" or "outside sales counsellors”(OSRs).
The Registrant and the principal of the Registrant, are responsible to ensure that all such sellers of travel services and/or counsellors and/or contractors meet the TICO Education Standards as required by section 12 of the Regulation.
The Registrant and the principal of the Registrant, are responsible to ensure that all sellers of travel services and/or counsellors and/or contractors, comply with all aspects of the Regulation, and specifically sections 27, 31 to 40 and section 44, in respect of disclosure, invoicing, receipt of monies and advertising.
The Registrant should review its policies and procedures with respect to travel counsellors, contractors, and OSRs and ensure that such policies and procedures are compliant with the requirements of the Act and the Regulation.
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 the deadline provided by the Registrar.
The shareholders of the Registrant shall ensure that loans and/or advances to 1367155 Ontario Inc. o/a Celestial Travel 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 1367155 Ontario Inc. o/a Celestial Travel decides to discontinue operations, any claims against the Ontario Travel Industry Compensation Fund are to be fully satisfied before shareholder loans can be repaid.
1367155 Ontario Inc. o/a Celestial Travel and the undersigned, acknowledge that we have read, understand and will comply with the terms of these Minutes of Settlement.
1367155 Ontario Inc. o/a Celestial Travel 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
Ms. Claudia Reeves, President/Manager
Mr. Richard Smart
1367155 Ontario Inc. o/a Celestial Travel I have the authority to bind the corporation
Registrar, Travel Industry Act, 2002