Absolutely, I do. One of the reasons I drafted this bill, and specifically the dates in question is, while it is not exactly the same as a date in the United States and, I believe, three or four other provinces, when we first drafted this bill in the previous Parliament, there were three provinces that had passed a similar provincial piece of legislation, most of which were at different times of the year.
What really prompted me to choose the third Saturday in September was its alignment with the United States. I'm not sure about the province of Quebec, but I do some fly-in fishing and hunting in northeastern and northwestern Ontario. The outfitters there tell me that the decline in American tourists is significant for some of their businesses. Now, these are people who will pay $5,000 to $6,000 per week to come up to Canada and take part in fishing, and I'm almost positive of the same experience in Quebec. I'm not sure about Saskatchewan and Manitoba, but my gut feeling is that it's the same right across this country.
So I wanted a date that somewhat mirrored theirs, and there's a reason for it. The current president of the United States has made some statements in that regard and hints towards tourism, but primarily for conservation, and I could read that to you a little bit later. So the alignment was designed to replicate provincial legislation, as well as mirror the legislation from the United States, recognizing those traditions and their importance to our heritage.