Mr. Speaker, it has been more than a year since the United States Department of Homeland Security announced the western hemisphere initiative. It is a simple enough proposal. It is simply going to require anybody entering the United States to have a passport. The effect of this on Canadians and Canadian economic sectors is going to be quite devastating.
Only 20% of Americans have passports. It costs a family of four about $400 U.S. to acquire passports. The people who cross over the border at my riding to come for recreational, sports and cultural activities are simply not going to put that money out. It is going to cost the economy in Canada literally billions of dollars, for instance, in the tourism and hospitality industry. Eighty per cent of the visitors to the casino in Windsor are from the United States, most of them coming over from Detroit and Michigan for day visits and overnight visits.
The Canadian tourism industry has been very strong in supporting this initiative to fight—