Ottawa

West Block, 326 Thunder Bay

Ottawa, Ontario 409 George St.
K1A 0A6 Thunder Bay, Ontario
Tel: 613-992-3061 Tel: 807-623-6000
Fax: 613-995-3515 Fax: 807-623-6001
Toll-Free: 1-800-667-6186
Atikokan
113A Main Street E. Fort Frances
th
P.O. Box 40 140 4 St. W.
Atikokan, Ontario Fort Frances, Ontario
P0T 1C0 P9A 3B8
Tel: 807-597-2000 Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay – Rainy River Tel: 807-274-9313
Fax: 807-597-2227 Fax: 807-274-3597

January 28, 2009.

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