Mr. Speaker, I present a petition that calls upon the Canadian government to negotiate with the United States government to reduce the U.S. and Canadian passport fees. The number of American tourists visiting Canada is now at its lowest level since 1972. It has fallen by five million in the last seven years, from 16 million visitors in 2002 to only 11 million in 2009.
Passport fees for multiple-member families are a significant barrier to traditional cross-border family vacations, and the cost of passports for an American family of four can be over $500 U.S. While more than half of Canadians have passports, only a quarter of Americans have passports.
At the recent Midwestern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments, attended by myself and more than 500 elected representatives from 11 border states and 3 provinces, a resolution was passed unanimously and reads as follows:
RESOLVED that [the] Conference calls on President Barack Obama and [the Canadian] Prime Minister...to immediately examine a reduced fee for passports to facilitate cross-border tourism; and be it further
RESOLVED, that [the Conference] encourage[s] the governments to examine the idea of a limited time two-for-one passport renewal or new application;
To be a fair process, passport fees must be reduced on both sides of the border. Therefore, the petitioners call upon the government to work with the American government to examine a mutual reduction in passport fees to facilitate tourism and, finally, promote a time limited two-for-one passport renewal or new application fee on a mutual basis with the United States.