I appreciate you raising that. Mr. Masse had mentioned some of those issues as well.
We have been very active in all the areas you mentioned on border issues. As you know, in the U.S., security trumps all, so access to the border has been an issue for visitors both to and from our country.
We have made some progress with our counterparts in the U.S., and the Minister of International Trade and the Minister of Public Safety have taken the lead on that. They've built some good bridges and are working on a number of issues, including alternative documents to passports, and more infrastructure has been put on the border to provide more space to move visitors back and forth more quickly.
With respect to attracting visitors from the U.S., I think we have to be cognizant of the fact that the U.S. was hit by the global downturn to perhaps an even greater extent than other countries, so that has had an impact to some degree on their travel decisions. But the Canadian Tourism Commission was given $40 million, over two years, in the economic action plan, and they have stepped up their promotional activities in the U.S. We see that there have been some positive results from that.
By the way, the Canadian Tourism Commission's advertising campaigns have garnered significant kudos right across the world. In fact, their latest campaign, “Locals Know”, has been rated by Forbes as one of the 10 best promotional campaigns. So they've been a real asset to us in the tourism industry.
At the same time, our tourism industry itself, as you know, colleague, has really stepped up to the plate and has been determined to compete at the top of its class. So it is refreshing its products, animating its products. A number of communities are using community adjustment funds to scrub up their tourism image and products and make themselves a real compelling destination for the world.
I think it's going to take action by a whole group of players in order to move this industry forward, but I do see that action happening, including, of course, our own federal government becoming more coordinated and focused with the federal PRISM strategy.