Dear President Barack Obama

With the swearing in of the Obama administration last month, there should be a whole host of new opportunities for bilateral cooperation between Canada and the United States. One such area of cooperation and dialogue related to our riding is the issue of border crossings, and specifically the soon to be implemented Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) as it is known south of the border threatens to make life more difficult for many of us living and working in Thunder Bay – Rainy River, but also for businesses that require frequent and timely access to their customers and colleagues in the US. The WHTI will require Canadians to present valid passports when crossing the border. Given the threat and inconvenience posed by the WHTI, I recently drafted and sent a letter to President Obama asking him to delay the implementation of the WHTI. I will be sending a similar letter to the Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister in advance of the bilateral meeting between President Obama and the Prime Minister later in the month. I encourage anyone who agrees with the contents of my letter to send one of their own and make their voice heard. The text of the letter is below.

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, D. C.
20500
Dear President Obama,
Congratulations on your election victory, and please accept my best wishes for the successful implementation of your much anticipated agenda of change. I am writing you today to ask for your intervention to delay the implementation of the passport requirements for U.S. and Canadian citizens contained in the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).
I am proud of the special relationship our countries share as partners in the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world. However, as a federal representative of a riding that shares a border with the state of Minnesota, the WHTI has already caused a significant disruption in the transportation of people and goods at the three border crossings that our countries share in my riding. Proceeding with the implementation of this initiative will, without question, further hamper travel and trade between the people our great countries.
As the deadline for instituting the WHTI regulations is this coming June, your immediate attention to this important issue is urgently needed. I believe that a comprehensive and complete review of the regulations, mandates, and procedures of this initiative is needed before any of the proposed changes are implemented by your administration. In short, I feel that delaying the implementation of this initiative would be in the shared interest of our people and our businesses, especially during this period of economic adversity.
I want to again wish you congratulations on your victory, I am hopeful that your administration will bring a different approach to this and other issues of shared concern between our great countries. I wish you all the best and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
John Rafferty, M. P.
Thunder Bay – Rainy River
New Democrat Critic for International Cooperation