7DaysinParadise
Travel => General Travel => Topic started by: Bulldog on January 22, 2008, 08:28:26 AM
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By Greg Joyce, THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER - British Columbians will soon be able to get a high-tech driver's licence that could be used as an alternative to a passport to cross into the United States by land and sea.
The licences, part of a pilot project involving the province, Washington state and the federal government, will initially involve 500 volunteers who agree to share personal information with Canadian and U.S. authorities.
"The new enhanced driver's licence will confirm both the holder's identity and Canadian citizenship, and can be used at land and water border crossings in place of a passport," Premier Gordon Campbell, with federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day looking on, said Monday.
The program aims to attract 500 volunteers from two Vancouver suburbs for the pilot project.
"This is a prototype program," said Campbell. "It's the beginning and we hope to learn what works and what doesn't work as we go through this program."
British Columbia led the way among Canadian provinces in finding an alternative to passports, said Day, but other provinces are already showing interest.
"B.C. came forward early on with the suggestion of enhanced driver's licences," he said. "Because of their vision ... we're now able to announce that British Columbia will be the first to engage in this pilot project."
Day emphasized, however, that while the enhanced licences are an alternative, Canadians are still urged to get a passport.
"I think you'll be seeing very quickly other provinces coming on side." he said, indicating that Ontario, Alberta, Quebec and Manitoba had shown interest.
"It's one of these situations where other provinces will be watching and they'll learn."
The enhanced licences will look mostly identical to current B.C. driver's licences but will be embedded with a "radio frequency identification chip"' that can be scanned at border crossings.
The licence can only be used at land and sea crossings and passports will still be required to fly into the United States.
Once an assessment is done on the pilot project, the new licences could be rolled out to all British Columbians in 2009.
Day conceded the high-tech licences was at first thought an unlikely solution to mounting delays getting across the Canada-U.S. border, which before the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was touted as the longest undefended border in the world.
"There were many adversaries and critics who said you'll never be able to convince the U.S. that there could be acceptable alternatives," Day said. "They are stuck on this passport thing and that's all that's going to matter.
"But we do have alternatives now."
Campbell said people who want an enhanced licence must understand they must also supply the type of personal information now given to obtain a passport.
Negotiations are continuing between Washington, D.C., and Ottawa over ensuring the information is confidential.
"It's really the information that's typically found in your passport and it will be found on the strip on the driver's licence," said Campbell.
Once in use, Day said drivers approaching a border booth will simply hold the licence up to a scanner "and the border officer will already have all the information as you approach the booth."
http://travel.canoe.ca/Travel/News/2008/01/21/4785714-cp.html
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Speaking of High-tech drivers licenses, I received my new Ontario one just the other day and it had apparently more security features then previous ones.
It has a new look, I would post it but well you know :ROFL: