It’s still too early to determine the full impact the cancellation of the 2020 Arctic Winter Games will have on local businesses, but it will be significant.

Hotel room bookings have been cancelled.

Flights have been cancelled.

Car rentals and restaurant reservations have been cancelled.

Economic Development Minister Ranj Pillai and Tourism and Culture Minister Jeanie Dendys were meeting this morning with representatives from the various chambers of commerce to discuss the impacts the cancellation will have.

“Yukon businesses and chambers of commerce met with me, minister Dendys and minister (John) Streicker to talk about the economic impacts of the AWG cancellation,” Pillai said in a statement early this afternoon. “The meeting was very positive and focused on how we are moving forward.

“I heard clearly from many in the room that they understood the need for the decision and we all agreed that our thoughts are first and foremost with the athletes, organizers and volunteers who have been preparing for this event,” Pillai said.

“At the same time, there are economic impacts in the short and long term that must be considered.”

The meeting enabled businesses to share their initial analysis of these impacts, Pillai said.

They will meet again and work with the Departments of Economic Development and Tourism and Culture to more fully determine the extent of the cancellation.

“Businesses are focused on the future,” Pillaid said.

“They spoke about their desire to work together to rally from this news and to support Team Yukon and boost our local economy in the near term.

“They also expressed an interest in a longer term plan for managing COVID-19 and the impacts it may have in the coming months.

“My colleagues and I appreciated the honest conversation with the business community and were reminded of the passion that Yukon business owners have for this territory,” the minister added.

“Yukon businesses are strong, resilient and ready to work. I expect to see a number of great ideas coming from them very quickly.”

Air North president Joe Sparling said this morning he’s had to cancel charters his airline had planned to provide to move athletes to and from the Yukon.

The airline will also be losing individual bookings by people who were coming north to support their kids’ teams, he pointed out.

“We are going to be losing a bunch of travel business,” he said. “It was a pretty big event. It will make a difference for our business and for other businesses.

“I am sure the decision was not taken lightly.”

Sparling said he couldn’t say precisely what it will mean for Air North, but he ballparked the lost revenue at around $750,000.

“Definitely, it is quite a big impact,” Roland Garoute of the Westmark Whitehorse Hotel told the Star this morning. “It is really difficult to immediately put numbers on it.”

The general manager said they’ve had 320 room cancellations since the announcement went out Saturday.

It won’t mean any job losses but it may mean staff losing some hours they were expecting to work, he said.

Garoute said they are also taking measures to increase efforts to ensure regular cleaning and maximum hygiene throughout the hotel.

The Arctic Winter Games organization announced the cancellation Saturday afternoon following a recommendation from Dr. Catherine Elliott, the Yukon’s acting Chief Medical Officer.

Yukon MP Larry Bagnell said this morning from Ottawa he’s made federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau aware of the cancellation in case there’s a request from the territory for financial assistance to help lessen the blow.

He said he’s also made other ministers aware of what the Games meant to the Yukon and the circumpolar North.

“This is a major event and people down south may not know how major the Games are,” he said.

Bagnell said the federal government did commit $1.5 million to support the Games but he’s not sure if all that has been spent or whether there is any left over that could be used to address the economic impact.

Caterer Luke Legault of The Wandering Bison said today he had a number of events booked.

“Over the course of the Games, I was going to be responsible for somewhere in the neighbourhood of 800 meals,” he said.

Legault said it was his understanding Yukon government deputy ministers were meeting this morning to discuss the cancellation.

Whether any events could be salvaged somehow isn’t known, he said.

Legault said he’ll at least have to negotiate a fair wage package for Wandering Bison employees who committed their time to serve at the catering functions that had been booked.

There was, for instance, an opening dinner event scheduled for Friday. Canadian Olympian Adam van Koeverden, a sprint kayaker who has won Olympic gold, had been expected to attend, he said.

Legault will also have to look at recovering some of the money the business spent supporting local farmers who were providing products for the events, as he does buy local whenever he can.

The impact on restaurants will be different than the effects on his business, he said, suggesting perhaps it’s an opportunity for locals to get out and support the establishments.