Industry committee  We have not provided a written report. We were asked for advice in meetings and we've had those discussions.

Industry committee  Walt Disney World owns Epcot Center and they own a number of pavilions at Epcot Centre, one of which portrays Canada. That pavilion includes a film of Canada that is quite dated. The CTC has been lobbying Walt Disney World to update their film on Canada for some time. Recently--

Industry committee  We had a lot of feedback from Canadians who felt it was so dated that it was negative. In fact, that was why we worked very hard to convince Disney that it needed to be updated. Disney was quite happy with the film as it was. The only complaints they say they received were primar

Industry committee  As a crown corporation with a mandate to market Canada, it is not within our mandate to advocate government policy in any public forum. We would meet with the minister responsible for tourism, the secretary of state, and provide advice with respect to how to grow tourism in Canad

Industry committee  Yes, and particularly to Industry Canada, where the lead role is placed.

Industry committee  We did not provide advice in advance of the announcement of the elimination of the visitor rebate program. We worked very closely with government after that to look at the exemption piece versus the rebate piece that I spoke about earlier.

Industry committee  As I said earlier, the issue with respect to how WHTI has been implemented has created confusion. The research we have done in the U.S. would suggest that to the extent to which people are aware there's a passport law out there, they believe it's probably already in place. From a

Industry committee  An increasing number of Canadian communities have been putting hotel room levies in place to fund various aspects of tourism development. The way these things have developed is that it's been up to the communities themselves as to how they choose to direct those funds. Some of th

Industry committee  The passport issue, as far as the CTC is concerned, is the issue with respect to the new rules coming into place in the U.S. Most of our international visitors would be travelling with a passport anyway. From an impact point of view, we have seen declines in U.S. visitation since

Industry committee  We have full access to the minister, and in fact, Minister Ritz has been providing access to tourism operators from across the country to provide input on priorities, and that access has been provided to the Canadian Tourism Commission as well. To answer your question, yes, we c

Industry committee  The program is available to tour operators, be they based in Canada or internationally, as long as they're selling in the international market and there is proof that the ultimate sale was to an international visitor.

Industry committee  The role of the CTC is not to advocate to government about government policy. We certainly work with our partners in markets and work with Canadian tourism operators to take the policy framework we have and best implement it in selling Canada for tourism purposes.

Industry committee  The industry took the position that the biggest competitive disadvantage created by the elimination of the rebate was the elimination of the exemption. That was the piece for tour operators and meetings and convention planners. That was the position of the industry.

Industry committee  We have figures for the impact on Canadian tourism with respect to the passport initiative, which of course is a U.S. initiative. We know that initiative will impact tourism receipts by about $3.6 billion over the period 2005 to 2010. So we're responding to that with campaigns in

Industry committee  Thank you for the question. The visitor rebate program comprised two major components. One was rebate to individual travellers and the other was an exemption that existed for tour operators and meetings and convention planners. The piece that we believe, when it was eliminated,