MARKHAM, Ontario-
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty will join three other provincial premiers later this month in Washington in an attempt to persuade U.S. officials to ease travel restrictions on Canadians.
The premiers from Quebec, New Brunswick and Manitoba will push their case at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, McGuinty told reporters Sunday.
Canadians already need a valid passport to fly into the United States, a law that is expected to include land and sea crossings no later than June 2009.
The Ontario premier said Quebec Premier Jean Charest, New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and Manitoba Premier Gary Doer are still discussing the agenda and the message they want to present.
But it’s important for Washington to understand that security measures shouldn’t compromise trade or tourism, McGuinty said following a political rally north of Toronto.
“We want to bring a common front to Washington, to reinforce the message that we’ve been sending for some time now, which is that we strongly support America’s desire to heighten its security level,” he said.
“But we feel we can and must do that in a way that does not compromise the free flow of goods and people and doesn’t compromise trade. And we want to make sure that we deliver that message and talk about how it is that we might ease the restrictions that they want to impose.”
The Conference Board of Canada has warned that the change in land rules could cost Canada $3 billion in lost tourism revenue and 14 million U.S. visitors over the five-year period ending in 2010.
About 40 percent of Canadians and some 27 percent of Americans have passports.
McGuinty said he has already spoken with some of his counterparts in the U.S. border states.
“It’s no secret,” he said. “We’ve all been saying the same thing for quite some time now, which is, we’re all for heightened security measures, but let’s do it in a way that doesn’t compromise trade, that doesn’t compromise jobs.”
A key U.S. legislator is expected to introduce a bill as early as this week to force officials to fully consider allowing Canadians and Americans to use driver’s licenses in lieu of passports to cross the border, and to exempt everyone under 17 from the new security rule.
Draft legislation obtained by The Canadian Press commits the U.S. to a pilot project with licenses. It also calls for officials to use the extra time Congress gave them, until June 1, 2009, to review the passport rule and ensure it won’t cause havoc at land and sea crossings.
The bill is proposed by Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., who chairs the powerful rules committee in the House of Representatives.
