I would like to remind the committee that tourism is a very important industry in Canada. The economic benefits of visits to Canada by foreigners are enormous, both for the people in charge of conferences, as you just said, and for our national parks across Canada. That said, this program cut was made because we believe this country has more to offer foreign visitors than a tax rebate. We don't think foreigners come to Canada just to have a tax rebate, but also to visit Canadians and to see our country.
As regards the tax rebate, we believe that the one percent cut in the GST, to six percent, means that the purchases these people make in Canada will cost less than they would have without that cut. Canada is promoted through a number of programs. As I said earlier, through the Canadian Tourism Commission, we invest more than $300 million to promote tourism in Canada. Soon the Olympic Games will be held in Vancouver, and Quebec City will have its 400th anniversary, and the Canadian government will take an active part in promoting those events in order to attract foreign tourists.
Instead of administering a costly GST rebate program, we thought we would cut the tax to six percent, which is good, but, as you know, in our election platform, we told Canadians that we would reduce it to five percent. In this way, we'll help make Canada an enviable and affordable destination. This will benefit 100 percent of visitors, not just three percent. As I said earlier, the tourism sector is facing major challenges. I'll be meeting with tourism industry people in a few weeks, and I will be pleased to discuss this matter with them.