Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to thank the witnesses for their presentations. I found them very interesting.
We are also very surprised by the Finance minister's proposal. We find it hard to understand why the government would impose another burden on the tourist industry, which is already experiencing serious difficulties. You referred, among other things to the Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative, which will take effect sooner or later. It has been put off until 2009 for land border crossings, but it will still have negative effects on the tourist industry.
I would first like to ask Ms. Zabel if the Canadian Tourism Commission was consulted on this initiative by the Finance department. Was there any consultation? Was the industry consulted as well? If you were consulted, what was your recommendation?