Tourism is extremely important. Our government is conscious of that fact, because I am lucky to have the assistance of Mr. Gerry Ritz, the Secretary of State for Small Business and Tourism. He regularly consults his colleagues in the provinces, as I did back in December of 2006, when I met with all the ministers responsible for tourism in Canada. They were pleased to know that in 2005-06, our government had invested more than $400 million in the tourism industry.
Following my meeting with the provincial ministers, Mr. Ritz also had discussions with his colleagues about the challenges currently facing the tourism industry. We agreed that the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, which will be taking place here in Canada, are a very important event. We believe that Canada should take advantage of the visibility that comes with hosting the Winter Games. We will need to promote all the regions of Canada as choice tourist destinations.
Another important event is the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. We will also be ensuring that this event has high visibility, in order to attract as many visitors as possible to Canada.
The Olympic Games are a priority for the Canadian Tourism Commission, and I am very pleased about that. There are obvious economic spinoffs associated with the tourism industry.