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What is the WHTI? Well, if you ask most people in Canada the consensus would be that it is a paranoid reaction by American Homeland Security to the notion that the Canadian border is made of Swiss cheese. And that there are versions of Bin Laden behind every moose waiting to crawl through the porous 49th parallel.

In a nut shell it is a plan to make Canadians entering the United States have a valid passport thus negating the standard drivers license and other photo ID’s that have sufficed for generations. Many Canadians are outraged that the longest undefended border in the world is being “turned into the Berlin Wall.” Well, this is just an emotional kneejerk but it seems that, while the Europeans are softening up their borders the Americans are building a fortress.

This year the WHTI was supposed to be fait accompli however there have been several developments surrounding the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative in the past month. In short the US House of Representatives has voted to amend the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Bill to delay implementation of WHTI until June 2009.

In the words of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada:

U.S. Flag, passport“The bill also included language to withhold $100 million in funding required to implement WHTI until the department has determined if driver’s licenses can be enhanced to meet WHTI requirements. The bill also requires the DHS to properly pilot its PASS card before making it publicly available.”

George W. wants to dump it

Just recently a Senate Appropriations Committee voted to recommend a seventeen month delay – until June of 2009 – before the land and sea implementation of WHTI takes place. The amended bill will go to the full Senate for vote enjoying a formidable coalition of bipartisan support. However, President Bush, it has been reported by insiders, is leaning toward vetoing the bill but not for the reason you might thing. George W. disagrees with the spending part of the bill.

Passport = Less Hassles

So, what should travelers to the U.S. do? Well, passports cost almost $90CDN but they save a lot of time and energy. I always had one whether I was traveling to Philadelphia or Berlin. Showing a passport always saved a lot of time at the airports and customs areas because there was a very good chance that a reservations agent in Austin, Texas or New Orleans had never seen a Nova Scotia drivers license before.

Be on the ball. Get a passport and let the politicians do what they will.

 

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