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Jocelyn Dessureault, Executive Director of the CITQ, is pleased to announce the nomination of Mrs Karine Gendron to the position of Classification Director.


She holds a bachelor’s degree in hotel management from UQAM and has been employed by the Corporation for almost 15 years. Karine has extensive knowledge of the CITQ’s classification program.
At the time of her nomination, she was Assistant Director of classification services. Throughout her career, Karine has demonstrated professional rigour and excellent analytical skills that enable her to play a leading role in the development of classifications and the CITQ. Among her achievements, she actively participated in redesigning the classification guides and made a significant contribution to the success of the various services offered to operators, including the very popular planning service.

The entire CITQ team is delighted by her nomination and offer her their complete collaboration.
 
 
 



In last June’s edition, we announced that on the 12th of that same month, the tourism minister, Mrs Caroline Proulx, submitted an amendment project for the Regulation respecting tourist accommodation establishments.

As we mentioned, this project proposed the creation of a new category – Principal residence establishments – intended for persons wishing to offer their principal residence for short-term rental. These persons must, however, obtain a registration number from the CITQ for a small fee but not requiring a visit from a classifier.

This project also proposed a mandatory indication of this number (or of the establishment number for other classified categories) in all advertising, contracts and Web sites relating to the operation of a tourism accommodation establishment.

At the time of the announcement, the minister further recalled that all requests for a registration number will also require authorization from the municipality, as is currently the case for classification certificates. The same would apply for an owner regarding requests from a tenant or a condominium syndicate, as the case may be.

Although the final result of this modification project is not yet known, the same as the date of its entry into force, my team and I are actively working to create all the tools and systems necessary to implement the proposed changes. Everything will be put into place to make the process easier.

Be assured that once the new Regulation is in effect, several communication initiatives clearly explaining the specifics of these changes will be available to you. They will include a special edition of the infoCITQ and many other informational tools.

I therefore invite you to watch for any correspondence that you may receive over the next couple of weeks and I thank you in advance for your collaboration.


Jocelyn Dessureault
Under its agreement with the ministère du Tourisme, over the next few weeks, the CITQ will undertake an important process of updating the classification criteria for lodges.
Divided into several steps, this process will include surveys of the lodge operators and their clientele, committee studies reuniting operators, representatives of the CITQ and various experts as well as on-site tests.

Prior to application, these new criteria established by consultation, must be approved by the Corporation’s Board of Directors and the Minister of Tourism.

During the month of November, all lodge operators will receive an email invitation to participate in an Internet survey. Watch your email inbox and make your opinion count.
 
 
This is the number of certified establishments across Quebec. Visit the “Statistics” section of www.citq.info to find out more about the current accommodation offers in each tourist region.
 
   

FREE ADVERTISING FOR YOUR ESTABLISHMENT ON QUEBECORIGINAL.COM

Did you know that texts accompanied by pictures are more attractive for search engines and can give your establishment greater visibility?
Recently, you received an email from the CITQ inviting you to update the information regarding your establishment, as it appears on QuebecOriginal.com, Quebec’s official tourist site visited by more than 5 million travellers.

This email contains the steps to take advantage of this exceptional offer that will allow you, among other things, to publish:
- a descriptive text of your establishment
- up to ten pictures of your establishment
- a video link
- an address leading to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and a blog

This operation is only possible by Internet using the online form sent to you.
Consult the photographic standards on this update form to help you publish visuals that will showcase your establishment and make travellers want to spend time there.
 
Here is what the “Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse”(*) says to this effect.

“The Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms protects all people with a disability who use a guide dog or a service dog. A person accompanied by a guide dog or a service dog has the right to access, without discrimination, public places such as businesses, restaurants, hotels and lodges…”

“Parents of children with pervasive development disorder (PDD), including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are also protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms when they are accompanied by as service dog, even in the absence of a child. The parents are responsible for the animal and for its training.”

“The courts have established that service dogs and guide dogs are a means of palliating a handicap…. A seemingly neutral policy, such as prohibiting animals in a public place, may nevertheless be discriminatory if it results in denying access to service dogs” said the Human Rights Tribunal.

Recently, the Tribunal ruled in favour of moral and punitive damages to be paid to a paraplegic accompanied by a service dog who was refused access to a campground.

(*) Consult here for “Guide dogs and service dogs helping people with disabilities” published by the “Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse”.
 
 
 

IMPORTANT NOTICE
PROOF OF LIABILITY INSURANCE


Over the next few days, many of you will receive a notice of certification renewal. To receive the renewal, the Regulation regarding tourism accommodation establishments requires that you present the CITQ with proof of liability insurance of at least two million dollars.

This proof must indicate:
the validity dates of the insurance policy
the mention that there is at least two million dollars of civil liability coverage
the address of the establishment covered by the insurance
the name(s) of the operator(s) requesting the certification renewal (owners or tenants)

 
 

ATTENTION: TENSION AMONG INSURERS!
 
For many years now, I have spoken about the importance of loss prevention, and as an establishment, it is essential to preserve a risk profile that is attractive for insurers. I regularly speak about claims’ rates and a hardening insurance market.

These subjects are becoming more and more important as we are at the peak of severity on behalf of insurers. All business sectors are affected, most especially yours. In both Quebec and Ontario, many insurers have withdrawn altogether from the “Hospitality” sector, a term used by insurers to include accommodations and food service. Inves

sa is very present in this sector, however it is not immune to the pressures of this drastically tightening market, despite having maintained a loss rate that is well below the market. As such, we have taken upstream measures in order to preserve our programs.

Our first measure was to share the risks between two or even three insurers in certain cases, the objective of this measure being to limit losses for the participating insurers, a common process when the market is in recovery. Also, while waiting for the storm to pass, we have applied stricter rules for the selection of new risks. Finally, a rate review will ensure the sustainability of our programs and insurance protection for the future.

Identity Theft and Cyber Risk Insurance
The predictions of reinsurers are alarming to the extent that they believe, in a near future, that losses relating to these risks will surpass those resulting from natural disasters. I will elaborate further on this in a future newsletter. In the meantime, you may consult the Facebook page " l’Assuré Futé " for some informative newsletters.

Jean-François Trudel,
Vice-President of Operations
514 382-6560 ou 1 855 855-9757


 
 
 
 
1010 De Sérigny, Suite 810 Longueuil (Quebec) J4K 5G7
450 679-3737  | 1 866 499-0550 | Fax : 450 679-1489
info@citq.qc.ca
LEGAL DEPOSIT
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA, 2019
BIBLIOTHÈQUE ET ARCHIVES NATIONALES DU QUÉBEC, 2019
ISSN-1710-2405 (PRINTED) ISSN-1715-2496 (ONLINE)
PLEASE NOTE : The CITQ is not responsible in any way for the information in our contributors’ advertorials and advertisements, and they are in no way to be considered endorsements. Although these articles and advertisements are intended to provide you with useful information on operating tourist accommodation establishments, we recommend that you shop around and make the appropriate comparisons before choosing a product or service.
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