Mr. Speaker, last week in my riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka small business owners and tourism operators had a chance to meet directly with the Canadian Tourism Commission.
The Liberal government established the CTC in 1995 as a public-private sector partnership to help keep tourism business and tourism jobs in Canada. That is exactly what is happening.
About 90 people took part in the various local workshops we held. On the first day we conducted a panel discussion on access to capital for tourism industry businesses.
On the second day we explored the U.S. and Canadian leisure markets and talked about how the CTC could help rural Canada's smaller operators better access these markets through partnerships.
It was a productive two days. My constituents and I appreciate both our government's commitment to tourism in Canada and the willingness of the CTC to help smaller tourism operators like the ones in my riding.