Canadian Heritage Committee on Oct. 18th, 2011

[Helen Jean Newman]

It is also served by Air Canada, WestJet, and Porter—and from the Nova Scotia perspective, by a number of international flights. We have flights from the U.S., Europe, and so on.

[Stacey Jones-Oxner]

Those flights are growing all the time.

[Tyrone Benskin, NDP, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Just to follow up on the infrastructure question one of my colleagues asked earlier, are you quite confident that any dramatic increase in tourism can be handled?

[Stacey Jones-Oxner]

Absolutely. From the Nova Scotia perspective, the product development side of the tourism division is always working with our operators to develop those accommodations, those experiences. There is room at the inn, no question, and we feel confident that we can handle that influx.

[Terri McCulloch]

Even in peak season, for example, most of our innkeepers are operating at between 60% to 75% capacity. That's an accommodation figure, and that's in peak season, so certainly in the shoulder season there is a lot of room for growth.

[Tyrone Benskin, NDP, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

I have just one more quick question, which ties somewhat into what my Liberal colleague was talking about. Are there any efforts to create an Atlantic travel package whereby other parts of Atlantic Canada would benefit from the Bay of Fundy experience? So you would fly into the Bay of Fundy and take a charter over to...and so on and so forth.

[Stacey Jones-Oxner]

That's what our contests are right now, actually.

[Helen Jean Newman]

Our whole approach with the Bay of Fundy initiative is very much around the theory of a rising tide lifting all ships. It may start with the Bay of Fundy, but it goes out to Atlantic Canada and the rest of Canada. The four Atlantic provinces are working together very aggressively to develop these tour packages comprising all four provinces, or a variety of combinations. That happens all the time.

[Tyrone Benskin, NDP, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

I will pass the rest of my time on to my Liberal colleague, if any.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

You are done, Mr. Benskin?

We can do it that way, or we can go back.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

I will jump out.

Thank you very much. I appreciate that.

You can sense the support around the table, and certainly right across party lines.

With regard to the corporate piece of this, I did note that when we were in South Africa, Table Mountain was very heavily supported by VISA and First Bank. There were some corporate players there. As you say, it's not just the cheque they write but that they are pros at it. This is what they do, and they have such great reach.

Just as a little note as you pull out all the stops going down the home stretch here, I see that that back home you have a pretty captive audience in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. All of these buildings have big Jumbotrons. You have a powerful piece with your promotion video. And they have in-house production capabilities. So if you could—

[Stacey Jones-Oxner]

There is a little whisperer.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

—tap into that....

I know that on Friday night, the Mooseheads plan on putting the boots to the Saint Johns Sea Dogs.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

There will be 10,000 people cheering them on Friday night.

Again, I think that's a captive audience, and if you can tag it with the captains or a couple of players saying get out and vote, that is something that will propel you over the next little bit. All of the rinks have the big Jumbotrons.

[Stacey Jones-Oxner]

Absolutely, and we used them during the Canada Games, when Nova Scotia hosted the games. We played our video on the Jumbotron and had young people skating with the sevens on their backs. So, absolutely, it is a great idea.

[Helen Jean Newman]

It was also aired during the CIAU hockey championships that took place in Fredericton.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Yes, okay.

[Helen Jean Newman]

TSN carried the video and those sorts of things. There have been numerous ways, but that is a good idea.

[Stacey Jones-Oxner]

We will make sure we get you to ask the Eagles for an autograph.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

He got traded to the Mooseheads, so I hate the Eagles now.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Moore]

Okay. Thank you, Mr. Cuzner.

Mr. McColeman.

[Phil McColeman, Conservative, Brant, ON]

Thank you for being here as well. It has been very educational.

I am usually a visitor to this committee, but typically our committees are highly partisan, or are sometimes highly partisan. They used to be. I would mention, in all good collegiality, the comment that was made about the orange wave. There is the odd orange wave that comes down the ocean, but the ocean is blue.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!