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The Canadian Travellers’ Report Card
In 2008, Canadians made more than 53 million visits outside the country, a 47% increase
since 2003. Over 40 million of these trips were to the United States. As our population ages
and the number of travelling Canadians continues to increase, it is important that all levels of
government are attentive to travellers’ rights and provide clear information that is required for
making travel plans.
The Canadian Snowbird Association (CSA) is a national, not-for-profit advocacy organization
dedicated to actively defending and improving the rights and privileges of travelling
Canadians.
In 2002 and again in 2006, the CSA undertook a national evaluation of federal, provincial and
territorial government policies of importance to travelling Canadians. In order to gauge the
levels of improvement from our initial recommendations, the CSA undertook a follow up study
during the Summer and Fall of 2009.
We are pleased that many provincial and territorial governments have responded with
improvements to service coverage but we have found there is still much work to be done.
Through this evaluation and over the years, it has become increasingly clear that there is
much more our governments can be doing to assist Canadian travelers. It is challenging to
obtain clear and accurate descriptions of government policy as it affects travellers. Layers
of legislation, regulations and policy statements together make up the approach of each
jurisdiction. These approaches change from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and, in some cases,
there are even conflicts within a province or territory’s own rules.
Furthermore, once policy statements are obtained they reveal a patchwork of approaches
that too often fail to meet the needs of travelling Canadians. More leadership from the federal
government and more sensitive and consistent standards across the country will help make
travelling a pleasant, safe and rewarding experience regardless of what part of the country a
person is from.
It is our hope that this report card will encourage clear government policies that respect and
support Canadians’ love of travel.
J.D. (Don) Gardiner, C.M.
Bob Slack
CSA President
First Vice-President
Chair - Government Relations Committee
An Open Letter from the CSA