Licence Appeal Tribunal
FILE: 9792/TIA
CASE NAME: 9792 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 August 31, 2015 to Revoke Registration
Grand Canada Travel Inc. Appellant
-and-
Registrar, Travel Industry Act, 2002 Respondent
CONSENT ORDER
Upon the application to the Tribunal by Grand Canada Travel Inc., 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: November 20, 2015
SCHEDULE "A"
Licence Appeal Tribunal
GRAND CANADA TRAVEL INC. Applicant
AND
REGISTRAR, TRAVEL INDUSTRY ACT, 2002 Respondent
MINUTES OF SETTLEMENT
WHEREAS Grand Canada Travel Inc. located at 498A Brant Street, Unit 3, Burlington, ON L7R 2G4 is a travel agent (Registration No. 50020005) registered on June 1, 2012, 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 Grand Canada Travel Inc. on September 2, 2015 (“NOP”), for the reason Grand Canada Travel Inc. is and has been carrying on activities that are in contravention of the Act and the Regulation;
AND WHEREAS Grand Canada Travel Inc. appealed the NOP to the Licence Appeal Tribunal;
AND WHEREAS the NOP was issued for a failure of the Grand Canada Travel Inc. to file December 31, 2014 financial statements, contrary to section 22 of the Regulation 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 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."
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 the Regulation 26/05, section 12.
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 26/05, and specifically sections 27, 31 to 40 and section 44, in respect of disclosure, invoicing, receipt of monies and advertising.
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 Grand Canada Travel Inc. 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 Grand Canada Travel Inc. decides to discontinue operations, any claims against the Ontario Travel Industry Compensation Fund are to be fully satisfied before shareholder loans can be repaid.
Grand Canada Travel Inc. and the undersigned, acknowledge that we have read, understand and will comply with the terms of these Minutes of Settlement.
Grand Canada Travel Inc. 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. Mohamed Younes, Director Grand Canada Travel Inc. I have the authority to bind the corporation
Mr. Richard Smart Registrar, Travel Industry Act, 2002