Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to bring your attention to the Tourism Industry Association of Canada's annual congress, which is now underway in Gatineau.
This premier event brings industry and government together to both celebrate and strengthen Canada's $79 billion tourism sector, which directly and indirectly supports 1.6 million jobs.
As chair of the parliamentary tourism caucus, I invite all members of Parliament to attend the Canadian Tourism Awards opening reception to be held tomorrow night from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Hilton Lac-Leamy's Grand Salon. I will be serving as the master of ceremonies for the awards and wish the best of luck to all nominees.
Our government recognizes that tourism is an industry at work in every region of this country. To bolster this important sector, our government is implementing Canada's federal tourism strategy, which is already paying dividends.
I look forward to taking part in the tourism awards as well as continuing our government's efforts to grow this important sector.