Mr. Speaker, tourism is the world's fourth largest industry. To promote the growth of Canada's tourism, the Minister of Industry recently announced $50 million of federal funding for the National Tourism Commission, chaired by a former member for London West, the hon. Judd Buchanan.
A welcomed partnership between industry experts and federal, provincial and territorial governments, this commission will work to improve Canada's performance in this promising segment of our national economy.
Canadian tourism has the potential to be our richest resource. We have a beautiful country to enjoy and to share with our visitors. It is time to reverse the tourism deficit which amounted $7.9 billion in 1993. Tourism creates jobs for Canadians; more than 590,000 in over 60,000 businesses across the country.
I was grateful for my first employment which was in the tourism industry. Colleagues should assist tourism. Canadian tourism can be part of the good news.