Tourism appears to have fallen off the Dalton McGuinty Liberals’ radar, and the tourism minister should be embarrassed about it, according to Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott.
“Tourism needs a champion, not an apologist,” said Arnott, who serves as the Progressive Conservative critic to the Minister of Tourism.
In the legislature’s question Period on April 13, Arnott noted that Ontario’s tourism industry was not mentioned in the recent Liberal budget, nor in its speech from the Throne.
Meanwhile, the number of visits to Ontario continues to drop, along with employment in the industry, according to figures published on the Ministry of Tourism’s own website.
He said opposition MPPs were astonished when, in response to Arnott’s questions, the minister, Michael Chan, extolled the virtues of the Harmonized Sales Tax as a way to help tourism.
“If he truly believes that higher taxes on attractions and accommodations will help tourism, he should think again,” said Arnott after question period.
“It’s time he started listening to the industry.”
With vast, untapped economic potential, Ontario’s tourism businesses, attractions, and hospitality sector should be a cornerstone of the government’s plans for economic recovery, said Arnott. “Instead, they are forgotten.”
