I think that limiting the Canadian Tourism Commission to that extent is a very bad way to go, especially since it went from 159 employees in 2006 to 122 employees as part of its new redevelopment plan.
One thing bothers me a lot. I'm mentioning it so I can to share this information with all my colleagues. It's the fact that international tourism brought in $15 billion in 2010, which equals $50 million on average for each riding, for barely $250,000 in investments or allocations granted. I think that performance is excellent. Even if we limited ourselves to an 25% increase, that would be a fraction compared with the enormous benefits. It's new money; tourism is an export product. It will yield a significant amount compared with the investment it would represent.
Neglecting tourism to this extent is a political decision. I fully acknowledge that there are other aspects, but the direct investment is what yields the most, in my opinion.