M-627 Tourism

That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize that tourism (i) is a sustainable and growing economic sector that employs more than 600 000 Canadians directly, (ii) stimulates investment in local communities across the country, (iii) generates 88.5 billion dollars in economic activities and 9.6 billion dollars in government revenue annually, (iv) is the largest services export sector in Canada; (b) increase annual funding for Destination Canada to enable the Canadian tourism industry to compete with our global competitors and promote Canada’s brand as a world-class tourism destination; (c) facilitate travel for international visitors to Canada; (d) continue to work with the industry to find ways to reduce air transport costs; (e) reduce the small business tax rate to nine percent to help tourism establishments create jobs; and (f) fix the employment insurance program in order to ensure that it better supports regional economies and seasonal industries like tourism.