Madam Chair, the bill is intended to support hotels, motels, cottages, bed and breakfasts, youth hostels, restaurants, food trucks, tour operators, theatres and music venues.
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Business of Supply December 8th, 2021
Madam Chair, the bill is intended to support hotels, motels, cottages, bed and breakfasts, youth hostels, restaurants, food trucks, tour operators, theatres and music venues.
Business of Supply December 8th, 2021
Madam Chair, it is very clear in our bill. We are here to help all the tourism sectors, the hotel industry, restaurants, all the sectors hit hardest by the pandemic. We encourage members on the other side to support the bill.
Business of Supply December 8th, 2021
Madam Chair, I was very clear. Some $500 million is going to the tourism relief fund.
Business of Supply December 8th, 2021
Madam Chair, we have clearly indicated that we have put $500 million into—
Business of Supply December 8th, 2021
Madam Chair, we have made it clear that our bill will help Canadians and the tourism sector. We encourage the members opposite to vote in favour of Bill C-3.
Business of Supply December 8th, 2021
Madam Chair, I would like to thank the great staff at ACOA for the work they are doing to help people in the hon. member's part of the country. The regional development agencies from coast to coast to coast will continue to be there for businesses.
Business of Supply December 8th, 2021
Madam Chair, I would like to highlight for my hon. colleague our $500-million tourism relief fund, which started in July. We are encouraging members from all parties of the House to get people to apply for grants of up to $100,000, with 50% matching, or for repayable loans of up to $500,000, representing 75% of a project, to make their tourism asset more attractive.
Business of Supply December 8th, 2021
Madam Chair, during the course of the pandemic, it was clear that the Conservatives wanted to embrace a policy of austerity, and they really believed that the COVID lockdowns were a time for cutting back. They thought that in this time of crisis, the government should have told Canadians to just stick it out on their own. Well, that is not our approach, and it is not the approach we took. We chose a process of investment and an approach of compassion, and that is why we have had one of the fastest recovered recessions in Canadian history, with 106% of jobs recovered since the base of the pandemic.
Business of Supply December 8th, 2021
Madam Chair, it is nice to see you in the chair again.
In the member's area, represented by the ACOA, a regional development agency, the regional relief and recovery fund provided more than $225 million to businesses in Atlantic Canada going through difficult times. It helped protect more than 16,000 jobs and supported close to 2,500 businesses. Our message to small businesses, including in the tourism sector, is clear: We are here for them now and we will work with them to help relaunch the economy.
The Canadian economy will not fully recover until the tourism sector has recovered. As my hon. colleague knows, and as we are encouraging all members in the House to recognize, we need support for Bill C-2. It is what operators in the tourism sector are asking us for. Bill C-2 would help hotels, motels, cottages, B & Bs, youth hostels, restaurants, food trucks, caterers, cafés, tour operators, theatres, music halls, charter buses, dinner cruises, holiday horse carriages, museums, heritage sites, zoos, botanical gardens, gyms, sports centres, ski resorts, leisure boat docks, amusement parks, dance halls, kids camps, hunting camps, fishing camps, cinemas, drive-in theatres and much more.
Business of Supply December 8th, 2021
Mr. Chair, the government is working with the sector and our colleagues across government to ensure that we have plenty of workers to meet the demand of businesses from coast to coast to coast.