Thanks, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to all our witnesses for coming forward today on Bill C-14 and the fall economic statement. We certainly appreciate your willingness to speak with us today at the finance committee. We hope that you and your families continue to remain safe and healthy during this pandemic.
I'm going to start my questions with Ms. Potter.
Ms. Potter, Bill C-14 is based on the fall economic statement. The controversial part of the fall economic statement, of course, has been the famous “summary statement of transactions”, page 126, which talks about a cut starting April 1 through the course of the next fiscal year of nearly 50% in terms of program expenses, so a substantial reduction in program expenses.
We know that COVID is continuing tragically. We're seeing a third wave coming. You have mentioned very important initiatives that the federal government could be making this year—you named about five in all—that would make a real difference in Canadian tourism and the tourism industry.
How important do you think it is for the federal government to realize that the pandemic shouldn't be subject to an arbitrary cutback in program expenses and that the federal government should be looking to provide supports to industries that may not have necessarily received enough supports to date? What would happen to the tourism industry if the programs you have proposed and mentioned in your presentation weren't brought to bear? What would that mean in terms of the tourism industry by the end of the year?