Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I thank our witnesses and the ministers for being here. I trust you and your families are doing well and are healthy during this time.
I would like to direct my questions to Minister Vandal. As the minister knows and as the minister noted, tourism is a large part of the northern economy, whether it's the northern provinces like my riding or across the three northern territories as well. Tourism is also a catalyst for other economic activity, whether it supports the retail stores or restaurants and many other aspects.
I was disheartened when many seasonal operators and tourist operators had trouble qualifying for a lot of the business support that was announced, because of the rigid criteria. I'm wondering if there was any sort of consultation or consideration of seasonal businesses when these programs were designed. If so, why was it not reflected in the programming?