My question is for the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Last week, I attended an exciting hockey game with the minister at Iceland Arena in my riding of Mississauga–Malton. It was one of the 487 games played across five arenas in Mississauga over four days. Thank you to the Nipissing First Nation for organizing and thank you for choosing to host the event in Mississauga–Malton.

So 184 teams played in the first Little Native Hockey League tournament to be held in three years. This tournament is more than just a series of hockey games: It is a special event that drew over 2,000 children and teens to Mississauga from several First Nations communities.

Speaker, can the minister please describe the impact of sporting events like this to Ontario and Mississauga–Malton?

It’s encouraging news to hear about the positive effects that sporting events have on tourism and the substantive impact on economic activity. However, when I speak with the tourism operators and employers in my community, they raise concerns about the future. I hear them express worries about many jobs going unfilled—of an uncertain labour market. Tourism operators are really concerned about potential lost revenue because of the challenges they are experiencing in recruiting people into the tourism industry.

Tourism is vital to the economic well-being of our province and the industry deserves support from our government. Speaker, through you, can the minister please explain how our government is attracting prospective workers to consider employment and helping these operators?