44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 19, 2022 10:00AM
- May/19/22 12:39:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, during this pandemic we have asked the current government to share the data and to share the science. It has continued to refuse to do so over two years.
Going back to just this February, Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease physician at St. Joseph's hospital in Hamilton and an associate professor at McMaster University, said that singling out travel for COVID‑19 testing “does not make any sense” since it is no riskier than any other activities. These are other stakeholders. The Canadian Tourism and Travel Roundtable has said that it is time to end and move back these harmful restrictions. They are hurting tourism. They are hurting the 40,000 people in my riding who depend on it.
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- May/19/22 12:40:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am here today to speak on behalf of my constituents: the 40,000 people who work in the tourism sector. Situations like ArriveCAN are harming the tourism industry. There is no need for the tourism sector to continue to arrive at situations that disincentivize travel.
The federal government has ended all support programs for the tourism sector, and this past budget contained no support for the tourism sector. It has tied the tourism sector's hands behind its back. It should allow it to do what it does best, which is to welcome people from throughout the world to enjoy all that Niagara has to offer. It is time to do so.
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- May/19/22 12:43:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am curious. As the member goes into the summer tourism season, and as we see U.S. border protections being reduced by 20%, and as we see a lack of Canadian customs officials in place at this point in time, and as we see the lineups that keep getting longer at every border as travel increases, how is that going to impact his tourism sector and his riding in general?
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- May/19/22 12:57:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there have been many suggestions made by people with knowledge. Rachel Bertone from the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, for instance, emphasized that international arriving passengers are being delayed by public health requirements. Others are saying that they need more hiring; they need to get more staff, and they need to pay attention to this. It is not only one thing. It is many things that need to come together in a prudent and rational approach to travel and to the recovery of our tourism economy.
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- May/19/22 4:33:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague from Kingston and the Islands that my colleague from Jonquière gives good speeches. I also agree that there is a dangerous tendency towards populism and easy solutions to false problems on the Conservative side. On that we agree.
I would like to talk about the tourism and cultural businesses that are so integral to the economy in my riding of Shefford. It is important to be more transparent with this reopening plan since these businesses need more predictability.
There are still too many problems. There is still a lack of transparency and efficiency in this reopening plan. Take passports, for example. Right now, in my office, it is terrible. The delays in issuing passports are affecting the travel industry. Again, perhaps this could have been predicted, since we knew that people would go back to travelling now that the world is slowly coming out of lockdown.
Given that we do not have a specific plan and that the government has not properly anticipated how things would unfold, what does my colleague think about the importance of this plan and the importance of working on what is not currently working in order to promote tourism?
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- May/19/22 4:34:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, one of the challenges always has been about how to nail down a plan on something that is continually evolving, shifting and changing.
I share the member's great concern about the tourism industry. The third-biggest economic driver in my riding is tourism. That is why the government was there for tourism operators specifically when the pandemic started. It was there before the last wave and will continue to be there for tourism operators moving into the future. We cannot predict the exact moves of the pandemic, but we can be there to support small businesses and tourism operators specifically through the pandemic. That is exactly what we have been doing and continue to do.
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