Canadians flying into U.S. need passport next week; most already have one

WASHINGTON (CP) - American officials say 96 per cent of Canadian air travellers who flew into the United States the first week of January had passports, so there won't be huge problems when they're officially required starting next Tuesday. Ninety per cent of Americans returning home from all over the Western Hemisphere had passports and the numbers are going up each week.

"Hopefully we'll see continued growth on that so we'll have full compliance on Jan. 23," said Bob Jacksta at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

But there are bound to be people who get caught empty-handed, said Jacksta, who suggested Customs agents will be flexible in dealing with them.

"There's always that situation. We see it on a regular basis."

For instance, people sometimes lose their passports or they are stolen. Their identity papers are expired or hard to read.

Or perhaps a Canadian snowbird who drove down to Florida will have to fly home in a hurry and the airline will want to see a passport when they check in.

"There's always discretion for our officers" and alternatives such as computer databases to ascertain identity and citizenship, said Jacksta, executive director of passenger security.

"We don't want to disrupt travel, but we clearly want to make sure that everyone knows we encourage them to arrive at our ports of entry with the proper documentation," he said.

"We do not want to harm individuals and put them in a position that they're not able to get back to their country."

However, there will be cases where people are delayed somewhat, he said.

The goal, said Frank Moss at the U.S. State Department, is to implement the so-called Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative in an "intelligent and humane fashion."

The second part of the new safety rules devised after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, cover land and sea crossings and are to go into effect no later than June 2009.

Canada is still trying to get U.S. officials to accept documents other than passports and a special high-technology card that Americans are devising as an alternative.

Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, who meets Thursday with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, has suggested they're open to enhanced driver's licences.

"There's continual dialogue with the Canadians on it," said Jacksta. "I think it's a positive effort and down the road we'll see some good results from those discussions."

Canada is worried the safety rule will clog land borders, disrupt trade and change the casual crossings that mark everyday life along the Canada-U.S. line.

Canadian businesses also worry that only some 28 per cent of Americans, or 73 million, have passports and won't bother to go north if it means getting one.

About 40 per cent of Canadians already have the documents.

Moss, though, said demand for passports is booming south of the border and the United States is expected to issue about 18 million new ones next year.

The rate has been going up by about one million a month, he said.

The only alternative to a passport for air travellers will be a NEXUS air card, U.S. merchant mariners card or permanent resident card. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces are exempt.

The new air rules apply to Canadians and Americans entering and leaving the United States, as well as people from Mexico and Bermuda.

About 99 per cent of Mexicans who entered the United States in early January had passports.

In a recent submission to the U.S. government, Canadian officials said the land and sea rules are still causing a lot of concern.

"We need to ensure that we do not build walls between us," they wrote.

"Canada recommends that together we explore document options . . . This could include, during a transitional phase, accepting existing documents or combinations of documents."

Canadian officials also say the United States should take all the extra time granted by Congress, an extension of 17 months, to implement the second phase so that it's done right.

© The Canadian Press, 2007