Thank you, Madam Chair and honourable committee members.
Meetings Mean Business Canada represents a cross-section of the business events community in Canada. We are made up of event professionals and event owners, hoteliers, transportation professionals, convention centres, airlines, destination marketing organizations, technology companies and many others who make up an often invisible industry that supports the growth of every industry in our country. In addition to this, business events stimulate no less than a third of the tourism activity in Canada.
The business events industry was, until COVID hit us, a one-trillion-dollar global industry. In Canada, according to Oxford Economics, 229,000 Canadian jobs were supported annually by business events. The events that we have all attended in the past—conventions, exhibitions, congresses and other business meetings of 10 or more—created $33 billion in direct spending and contributed $19 billion to Canada's annual GDP. These numbers are real. They should shine a light on the critical component of the Canadian economy that was forced to shut down in the wake of the COVID crisis. This industry, which brings together businesses, academic thought leaders and Canadian citizens to exchange ideas and transact business, has been shut down in response to COVID-19.
Now, I can tell you that this industry is not suggesting that we have not responded appropriately—