Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I'd like to thank the minister for coming.
I know, Minister, you won't be surprised that I focus on tourism. As you may know, I have a background both in the public sector and the private sector in tourism. The riding I represent, Leeds—Grenville, happens to be on the southern boundary along the U.S. border. We have the Thousand Islands and the Rideau Lakes. I'm happy to get my little plug in there.
As you know, over the last few years we've had a number of issues surrounding the border and the passport requirement to go to the United States. We've had high fuel prices. We've had a number of issues that have led to the downturn in visitation to Canada, especially from the United States. Maybe you could talk a little bit about what the government has been doing to help continue to attract visitors from the United States and what may have been going on in terms of the border.