Industry committee  That's it. I'd like—

Industry committee  Mr. Chairman, if I could provide some supplementary remarks to Tony's, 23% of the people working in the 40 job classifications of tourism weren't born in Canada. One-quarter of everyone who's working in the 40 classifications of tourism were not born in Canada, so obviously immigration has an important role.

Industry committee  I'd just echo Tony's comments. The Tourism Industry Association of Canada is also opposed to this bill.

Industry committee  You have to look at those numbers with a keener eye. We must remember that our industry employs people at the entry level; it allows people to get into the workforce while they're going to school. We employ people 24 hours a day; we employ people who want a second income with the flexibility to work at a different time than, maybe, their spouse.

Industry committee  No. Well, we employ more women in our workforce than men. Also, the average age of employee is younger than the national average.

Industry committee  Yes.

Industry committee  Tourism spending is growing. We're growing at 2% to 3% per year on the strength of domestic travel and some growth in other foreign markets—like China, Mexico, and the U.K. But Japan and the United States are big challenges for us. The growth by 2% or 3% is mostly driven by domestic tourism, and that's not sustainable, in our view.

Industry committee  If I misled you, I'm sorry. My suggestion was that the Canadian Tourism Commission's budget needed to be increased by $100 million to present the Canada brand in foreign lands, then to be followed up by the provinces with their particular sell messages. So it's important that the provincial budgets are increased or certainly maintained in some cases, but I wouldn't suggest that the provinces not follow in foreign lands with a sell message of their particular destination.

Industry committee  I think it's a balancing of priorities. Our industry, as we've talked about before, is misunderstood and we are a diverse industry and we are growing at 2% to 3% per year. So there's some sense of comfort, maybe, and not urgency, but I think that is shielding what is underlying: a very stormy period coming up for industry.

Industry committee  Thank you for that question. Access to Canada we've spoken about jointly here, and certainly open skies or blue sky bilateral agreements with other countries are critical in accessing our country. Since 1995, when we first had an open skies agreement with the United States, that helped tremendously in increasing visits from the United States to Canada.

Industry committee  Not our organization, as we're not a marketing organization, but our membership is certainly in those markets, trying to grow demand. Obviously, if we need lift from there, we need to create the demand to make the lift sustainable when it's put in place. So our membership is in these markets, trying to increase visits.

Industry committee  I agree. Your question is right on the mark. It's a great question. The CTC, the Canadian Tourism Commission, is much maligned, and I think a little unfairly. Its job is to put Canada in the minds of potential foreign visitors to our country. It's a tough job, with a budget that's half that of Las Vegas and half that of Australia, and we're supposed to promote this country around the world.

Industry committee  We've been involved in the question of sustainable development since 1992, when we first developed a code of ethics. In 2001 Canada signed an accord with Parks Canada, the only one in the world between the national tourism organization and the national conservation agency for the environment and parks.

Industry committee  Yes, we do undervalue it. I haven't heard of that change being an issue for our industry, to be direct to your comments. It hasn't been raised, to my knowledge, by any of our membership as an issue for us. I don't know if Tony has heard about it or not. Obviously any time the Canadian brand can be celebrated outside our borders is a time that is good for us and puts Canada on somebody else's mindset.

Industry committee  It's hard to pin down exactly how much of the depreciation of the U.S. market is attributable to the dollar. I do want to say, though, that the U.S. market started to depreciate in visitations after 2002, and the appreciation of the Canadian dollar didn't start until about three years ago.