Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was able to attend virtually the Annual Tourism Congress hosted by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. Over 2,400 travel and tourism professionals registered to take part, and much of what was discussed centred on the need for additional and tailored supports from the federal government.
Since the start of this pandemic, our Conservative opposition has been asking the Liberal government to present a sector-specific travel and tourism recovery plan. Nine months later, the government has still not taken any action. The absence of a dedicated sector-specific tourism recovery plan is an abject failure of the Liberal government.
Destination Canada's own state of the industry report from October stated: “We need to help provide a light at the end of the tunnel.” This is a call for action. The tourism sector and, more importantly, Canada's travel and tourism workers want to get back to work and do so safely. They are looking to Parliament for timely and critical solutions. Now is the time to deliver.