Mr. Speaker, last fall, the Conservative government announced that it intended to abolish GST refunds for foreign visitors. This decision made people in the Quebec tourism industry fear the worst. In the Quebec City region alone, they estimated they would lose one out of every 10 tourists, which would mean a loss of $160 million and 2,500 jobs.
The pressure from the Bloc Québécois on this issue forced the government to review its decision and to continue refunding GST for conferences and tours.
However, this is not a definitive solution. This tax is useless, given the federal government surpluses. It hurts tourism, and the government should go back to the way things were and stop needlessly taxing the Quebec tourism industry. The Bloc Québécois has acted responsibly on this issue, and we will continue to defend Quebec's vision for tourism.