Manitoba Progressive Conservative House Leader, Kelvin Goertzen, has written the American Chair and Vice-Chair of the Midwest-Canada Relations Committee seeking support in opposing any proposed land border crossing fee from Canada into the United States.
Goertzen, a member of the Committee, says that while the study of the proposed fee which appears in 2014 budget documents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is at a very early stage, it is important to be vigilant to ensure the hundreds of thousands of business and leisure travelers that cross the border each day are not charged a fee in the future.
“While I think is unlikely this particular fee proposal will happen, it really is incumbent on all of us as legislators to continually work to ensure that our border, while secure, meets our mutual economic and personal interests,” said Goertzen. “Certainly Manitoba benefits from significant trade with the United States and industries like the trucking industry rely on the ability to cross the border efficiently. A border crossing fee is the last thing that is needed.”
Goertzen has written the Chair of the Midwest- Canada Relations Committee, Speaker Ray Merrick from Kansas and the U.S. Vice-Chair of the Committee, Senator Ed Charbonneau of Indiana. He is hopeful that the Committee as a whole, representing 11 States and 4 provinces, will oppose the proposed fee.
“Certainly representatives of the border states are concerned about the proposal and I am hopeful that the entire Midwest-Canada Relations Committee membership would share that concern. These types of proposals don’t benefit the overall interests of either of our nations in the long-run and I look forward to my colleagues on the committee expressing their opposition to it,” said Goertzen.
The Committee is expected to meet later this year but Goertzen said he hopes to hear back from U.S. representatives before that.
