Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the woman who called my office yesterday, wanting to know why I was not presenting a petition on the reduction of passport fees, and I want to thank the Speaker for having similar thoughts yesterday.
This petition, signed by dozens of Canadians, is a call on the Canadian government to negotiate with the United States government to reduce the United States and Canadian passport fees.
U.S. tourism to Canada is at its lowest since 1972. It has fallen by five million visits in the last seven years alone, from 16 million in 2002 to 11 million in 2009.
Passport fees for a U.S. family of four can be over $500. In fact, 25% of Americans have passports, while 50% of Canadians have passports.
In terms of legislative action, the recent Midwest Legislative Conference, representing 11 border states, from Illinois to North Dakota, and 3 provinces, passed a unanimous resolution at the conference this summer, which I wish to read:
RESOLVED that the Midwestern Legislative 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 the governments to examine the idea of a limited-time two-for-one passport renewal or new application.
To be a fair process, these passport fees have to be reduced on both sides of the border. Therefore, the petitioners call on the government to work with the American government to examine a mutual reduction in passport fees to facilitate tourism and, finally, promote a limited-time two-for-one passport renewal or new application fee on a mutual basis with the United States.