Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Again, I'd like you to congratulate you all for having compelling and succinct presentations. Given my lack of time, I'd like to focus on one issue, which is tourism. My question will be for Mr. Williams and Mr. Pollard. When you don't have much money, sometimes it's good to focus on things that don't cost money, and I'd like to mention two. One is the issue of the Canada-U.S. passport requirement, or possible passport requirement at the border, and the second is the issue of China.
We, on our side of the House, thought the government capitulated a little too quickly on the passport issue. I wouldn't necessarily ask you to comment on that. But what is the current state of play? What are the implications for your industry? Do you think there is a viable solution that will not be too damaging in this area, and what is the timeframe?
On China, I remember Mr. Emerson announcing in the House in 2005, when he was a Liberal, that we were about to sign an agreement with China, known as the approved destination status agreement, which would facilitate Chinese tourists coming to Canada. I don't know the numbers, but for a country of 1.3 billion, I think the potential might have been very high in terms of numbers of tourists. Now the current government misses no opportunity to poke China in the eye, whether it's by not meeting the ambassador or by having zero ministerial visits to China versus 13 under the Martin government. I could go on.
The Chinese have now refused to speak to the Government of Canada on this subject, so there is no prospect for this agreement. I would think that would be a major concern to the tourism industry.
So here is my second question. How important is this agreement with China, and what are the implications for your industry if no progress for the indefinite future is made on signing that agreement?