Licence Appeal Tribunal
Appeal in matter of: Tribunal matière de permis
FILE: 9653/TIA
CASE NAME: 9653 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 June 16, 2015 to Revoke Registration
Felix Mordi o/a Bluekat Travels Appellant
-and-
Registrar, Travel Industry Act, 2002 Respondent
CONSENT ORDER
Upon the application to the Tribunal by Felix Mordi o/a Bluekat Travels, 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: December 7, 2015
SCHEDULE "A"
Licence Appeal Tribunal
FELIX MORDI o/a BLUEKAT TRAVELS Applicant
AND
REGISTRAR, TRAVEL INDUSTRY ACT, 2002 Respondent
MINUTES OF SETTLEMENT
WHEREAS Felix Mordi o/a Bluekat Travels located at 1017 Weston Rd, Toronto, ON M6N 3R9, is a travel agent (Registration No. 50016214) registered on November 19, 2007, 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 Felix Mordi o/a Bluekat Travels on June 16, 2015 (“NOP”), for the reason Felix Mordi o/a Bluekat Travels is and has been carrying on activities that are in contravention of the Act and the Regulation;
AND WHEREAS Felix Mordi o/a Bluekat Travels appealed the NOP to the Licence Appeal Tribunal;
AND WHEREAS the NOP was issued for a failure of the Felix Mordi o/a Bluekat Travels to issue invoices, properly maintain its trust account 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 November 2015 through to and including January 2016, 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 November 2015 is due December 31, 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 must take steps to correct trust accounting deficiencies outlined in the letter dated November 26, 2015. Further, the Registrant must respond to the said letter by December 10, 2015 (the deadline specified in the letter).
TICO will conduct a financial inspection to ensure that the Registrant’s trust accounting procedures have improved and are compliant with the Act and the Regulation. The Registrant shall cooperate with TICO in scheduling a date for such an inspection.
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 5 business days from the receipt of TICO correspondence.
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.
In the event the Registrant decides to discontinue operations, any claims against the Ontario Travel Industry Compensation Fund are to be fully satisfied before shareholder loans can be repaid.
Felix Mordi o/a Bluekat Travels and the undersigned, acknowledge that we have read, understand and will comply with the terms of these Minutes of Settlement.
Felix Mordi o/a Bluekat Travels 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. Felix Mordi, Owner/Manager
Mr. Richard Smart
Felix Mordi o/a Bluekat Travels
Registrar, Travel Industry Act, 2002