The Doha agreement didn't actually require us to go through this process. The fact of the matter is, if we're just going to send a country a CD-ROM.... I think more is expected from this country in particular, our embassies and whatnot. I know there have been NGOs trying to use this system who have been frustrated by it as well.
I want to turn briefly back to the GST and the cutting of the rebate. As you noted, it is only used by 3% of those travellers, but at the same time, it's extensively used, and the real harm is from the conventions and other types of delegations that come in. In fact, there are representations from those organizations calling it the worst decision, in its effect on the industry, since 9/11. They're also calling it a travesty and saying a series of different problems are going to be created. They're losing business over this.
At a time when we have the Americans instituting the WHTI and we have militarization on the border—for example, on my border we're getting military Black Hawk helicopters, river gunboats, a whole series of things that are scaring tourism away—why, when we have our lowest levels since 1972 of American tourism to Canada, would we now add another problem to the situation? Why wouldn't the government abandon that cut, since the industry universally is condemning it, allow it to stand, and at least do a national tourism strategy to offset some of the problems we've had?
We did it successfully for SARS and other things. Why can't we do the same thing when we know we have barriers imposed upon us and we are also creating some ourselves?