Travelling Americans would also need passports and it's unlikely either country could even provide the necessary documents by the deadline on Dec. 31, 2007, he said.
Only about 20 per cent of Americans currently have a passport. About twice as many Canadians have one.
"We would have grave questions as to whether you could or not," said Mr. McKenna, who has been Canada's ambassador to the United States since January.
"We have no evidence yet that either side of the border is prepared for that challenge."
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/051019/w101992.html
[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on October 20, 2005]
Note: http://www.cbc.ca/cp/wo...
McKenna Continues Campaign Against Passport Plan
Posted on Thursday, October 20 at 12:37 by challContributed By
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Jim Williams
Director, US VISIT
Department of Homeland Security
Dear Susan Thompson,
Your recent piece, “McKenna Continues Campaign Against Passport Plan”, inaccurately stated that the passport will be the only document accepted for entry into the United States for Canadians and returning United States citizens under the proposed Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
The proposed rule clearly states that it “will require all U.S. citizens, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda and citizens of Canada and Mexico to have a passport or other accepted secure document that establishes the bearer’s identity and nationality to enter or reenter the United States.”
The goal of the proposed rule is to improve our ability to verify the identity of those who enter the United States, in order to strengthen security and facilitate legitimate trade and travel across our borders.
Although passports are the document of choice because of their security features, the Departments of Homeland Security and State are exploring other acceptable travel documents, especially for land border crossings, and will make public additional options as they become available.
Sincerely,
Jim Williams,
Director, US VISIT
Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Anna Hinken at (202) 298-5200.
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"When I told him about class warfare, he asked if we did it in JellO."--translation/paraphrase, The Candidate, CBC