Mr. Speaker, I would remind my hon. colleague that the current situation with respect to the GST visitor rebate program comes as a result of the rather drastic cuts made by the Conservative government, which did so without really thinking it through.
After hearing some arguments, it partially corrected the situation in the case of outfitters and conference organizers.
I agree with my hon. colleague. A large part of the problem still needs to be addressed. Duty-free shops, for example, need a similar solution.
This program helped draw tourists. Eliminating the program and giving up its advantages simply because of problems with administrative costs was, I believe, a bad decision on the part of the Conservatives. This comes at a very bad time, because tourism to Canada is currently at its lowest, compared to other countries.
We have seen the figures and we recently received a letter confirming that the Canadian Tourism Commission had to reallocate its budgets from promoting Canada within Canada to promoting Canada abroad, although it should have the funds it needs to fulfil both objectives. We must therefore continue our efforts in this area.
With respect to the fiscal imbalance, I would like to complete my colleague's response. I think it is important that this debate continue, in order to ensure that Quebec and the provinces receive the money they need to fulfil their obligations. We must never forget that the municipalities are creatures of the provinces and they must set their priorities in line with what Quebec, for instance, wants to develop. There have been some initiatives in the past, such as the Canada infrastructure program. There could be others that we would be willing to examine, which would respect jurisdictions, but that—