b'Q&A CONVERSATIONSCamping in Ontario Looks to the FutureWhile Dealing WCM: In the United States the out-door recreation industry is booming atthe moment, with camper interest highwith Small Business Tax Issue That Threatens Entire Sector and developers seeking places to buildnew parks. Are you seeing the sametrend in Ontario?Alexandra Anderson: TIt is boomingFounded in 1969, Camping in Ontario is preparing to from the perspective of the camperscelebrate its 50th anniversary during its annual CampEx and the people interested in camping.I guess it is ironic because we do have which is also celebrating 50 years in 2019Nov. 17-18 an industry where we could accommo-at the JW Marriott-The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa in date a lot more campers, but losing theMinett, Ontario. Camping in Ontarios Executive Director smallbusinesstaxdeductionisnotAlexandra Anderson said officials expect to have a record goingtohelpthesituationbecauseownerswontbeabletoreinvestinnumber of attendees for the associations golden anniver- their parks. Developing a campgroundsary.under the current legislative burden inHowever, the celebration will be somewhat overshad- Ontario is exceptionally difficult. Itsverytime-consumingandweareowed by a recent judges ruling that has stripped the small working very hard in the office to trybusiness status away from incorporated parks throughout and speed it up so that owners can getCanada, something which Anderson said could have a their expansions and/or a new parkbuilt.devastatingimpactonthegrowthoftheRVparkand WCM: Can you give a little back-campground sectors moving forward.groundonthesmallbusinesstaxWith about 430 campground members, Anderson noted issue?Anderson: Thisactuallysurfacedthat legislative issues keep everyone at the association busy back in 2015 when Justin Trudeau, theAlexandra Anderson as it navigates numerous issues for its members while also currentprimeminister,waselectedtrying to reach out to the rest of the estimated 1,000 campgrounds and RV park owners intooffice.TheCanadianRevenueAgency (CRA) has been targeting On-throughout Ontario.tario parks by labeling them akin to aWoodalls Campground Management (WCM) caught up with Anderson during a break in mobile home park and not a recre-her schedule in early September to get some updates on how the association is faring, the im- ational campground. The governmentthat is currently in power declined topact of the recent ruling on park owners small business status and some other pertinent issues.fix the issue for us, so we tried going theFollowing is an edited version of our conversation. court route. The decision that the courthanded down was not what we wantedat all. In fact, its very damaging to the38 -October 2019Woodalls Campground Management'