Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the MTEP is to help out the Canadian tourism industry, which is in great need. The goals of this two-year recovery program have been met. During the first year of the program, almost 75% of the funding was granted to large Canadian cities. During the second year, we want to make sure that the smaller cities and towns can also benefit from the program and that is why 19 new events will receive funding this year.
In the House of Commons on June 11th, 2010. See this statement in context.