Mr. Speaker, the ideological cuts we have seen from the minority Conservative government this week will have devastating effects on border tourism.
In my riding thousands of visitors have taken advantage of the GST rebate offered to tourists, stimulating cross-border traffic and tourism opportunities. Jerry Fisher of the Northwestern Ontario Tourism Association maintains this will be a devastating blow to the industry. How can the government possibly justify the elimination of this business-friendly program on the very same day it announced record surpluses?
Is help for the cross-border tourism, in the government's words, mere “fat to be trimmed”?