More stringent border regulations only days away.

[Bulldog]

Canwest News ServiceMay 29, 2009
 
New rules, which were years in the making and require passports or some other secure means of identification at land-crossings along the Canada-U. S. border, come into effect Monday.

The law falls under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Department of State anti-terrorism policy known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, initiated after the 9/11 attacks.

Canadian travellers to the United States will require a passport, enhanced driver's licence or "trusted traveller" card (NEXUS card or FAST card) to enter, as will Americans returning from Canada.

The new U.S. border czar - Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano - took a whirlwind tour earlier this week of border operations at the Windsor- Detroit crossing in the lead up to the new law.

``My job is to make sure the law Congress has approved gets implemented as smooth as possible,'' said Napolitano, who also met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper later that day in Ottawa.

During their meeting, the pair discussed several issues including the travel initiative.

``The prime minister welcomed Secretary Napolitano's indication that measures are in place to ensure a smooth implementation of the passport requirement throughout the busy summer travel season,'' a spokesperson for the PM said in a prepared statement.

Under the new law, children under 16 - and youth 18 and under travelling as part of an organized group - can still get through with only a proof of citizenship such as a birth certificate.

By air, a passport or NEXUS card is required for all.

U.S. officials, however, promise to be lenient, at first.

"We're encouraging travellers to have approved documents for Monday," Joanne Ferreira, spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said in an interview this month. "But we're going to be flexible and practical . . . We won't deny entry to U.S. or Canadian citizens.

To date, 91 million Americans, or 30 per cent of the population, have obtained passports, Ferreira said. Another one million have passport pass cards and half a million own NEXUS cards that allow quick passage. Fifty-four per cent of Canadians (48 per cent of Quebecers) own passports.

Passport Canada has been processing up to 22,000 passport requests a day in recent weeks, up from the usual 17,000 handled during the high season of November till March, spokesperson Jean-Sebastien Roy said.

The Canadian government has said it is ready for the June 1 implementation, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security certified the technology for the alternative travel documents last month.

Several Canadian provinces and U.S. states are working toward creation of enhanced driver's licences as a passport alternative. They are to include radio- frequency identification chips embedded with citizenship and identity information.

For more information on border crossing requirements, visit www.getyouhome. gov/html/eng_map.html and click on Canada.

Montreal Gazette/Canwest News Service

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