Mr. Speaker, the tourism industry is responsible for 600,000 jobs in cities and towns across Canada. People in my riding of Welland and across Canada know how important tourism is to local economies.
However, not only have Conservatives slashed the budget of the Canadian Tourism Commission by nearly 30%, the Minister of State actually bragged about how much he had cut. As a result, Canada has dropped dramatically as a tourism destination.
Why do Conservatives continue to ignore a sector that employs so many Canadians?