(WA) State, B.C. fear negative impact of passport rule

[icymist]

State, B.C. fear negative impact of passport rule
By The Associated Press


OLYMPIA — Washington state and British Columbia are objecting to a U.S. proposal to require passport checks at border crossings.

Tourism officials fear visits between the two countries will drop, knocking a big hole in the regional economy, if the U.S. Department of Homeland Security begins enforcement on Jan. 1, 2007.

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell are drafting a joint letter to the agency expressing their concerns.

"We have to have security, there is no question about that," Gregoire told The Herald of Everett. "On the other hand, can we have security to the point where we can really harm the economies?"

(more)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002652635_passports29m.html

[wtbymark]

1. Vermont/NY and Quebec are bitching about it also

[LisaM]

2. As should Michigan, which has the heaviest traffic between the US and CA

we went (from Seattle) to Canada last week, and both had to have certified copies of birth certificates to get in and out - new for the last few years. I used to be able to just take a driver's license and voter registration card. It's going to be a pain.

[Megahurtz]

3. What a bunch of shit.

The U.S. probably wants to impose their soon-to-be new radio-chipped passports
just so they can keep tabs on everyone.

For what, a future Draft maybe?

Fuck them.:grr:

[pinerow]

4. Hmmm...so you can get into the U.S.from

Canada without too much trouble...but we'll build a 2000 mile fence along our southern border without regard to the economies along said border...sheesh...!!

[Davis_X_Machina]

5. Royal pain in the ass here...

...as the St John's valley is a series of twin towns, one on each side.

[Missy Vixen]

6. When I was single, my roommate and I used to drive to Vancouver, BC

for dinner on the weekends. It's a quick trip from the Seattle area; we always had a great time. :hi:

Even with passports, we're currently staying out of Canada, even though Canada has gone out of its way to welcome people from the USA. The Seattle Times reported a bit over a year ago that if there was another terrorist attack in the US, the border would be sealed.

We'll stay out till * has gone back to Crawford; that's the current plan.

Julie

[KT2000]

7. Stupid..stupid..stupid

travel from the Olympic Peninsula in the US into Victoria BC will definately drop off and that is a great tourist destination from the US. People take the trip spontaneously while vacationing on the US side. They often find the ghost town on the US side depressing. It is just a quick trip to a gorgeous city (Victoria) and a really fun time.


The terrorists will plan to have "passports" and it is the grandmas, hikers and young families that will forgo the trip.

[LostinVA]

8. I've taken that trip -- it's wonderful!

[KT2000]

9. Try to make the trip

and spend the day pretending like I live in another country!

[LostinVA]

12. People in BC always think I'm from Ontario, which tickles me

to no end. I grew up in Southern NJ on the Delaware Bay, and we have this unusual accent, kinda like the VA Eastern Shore or NC Outer Banks. Apparently, to some Canadians, it sounds like an Ontario accent. I love it!

I wonder, if I go to Toronto, will they think I'm from Sooke???

[mrbassman03]

10. I live in Bellingham, which is about 20min away from the border...

Despite reports saying that you need both a driver's license and a certified birth certificate (when you don't have a passport), it is still insanely easy to get across the border with less. I was coming back from a rugby tournament in Abbotsford, with a friend who was completely smashed (underage), and he had forgotten every single form of identification in a different car. We got stopped at the border, and he had to go into the office. Not only did they allow him through after a few minutes of questioning, they didn't even search the car or give him a MIP. We also routinely go up to White Rock for lunch and drinks, and can get back with just a driver's license. Even if this law goes into effect, don't expect a whole lot to change.

[newswolf56]

11. Worst part of this is the economic impact on limited-income seniors...

disabled people and the poor: a passport today, photographs included, costs about $100 -- absolutely prohibitive for anyone on a limited or fixed income.

This out-of-reach price is deliberate federal policy, thanks entirely to the "far market value" mode of pricing government services -- a mode imposed by the Reagan Administration (which also raised the cost of topographic maps from 50 cents a sheet {their actual cost to the government} to $3 a sheet (calculated on the cost of private-sector maps, with the profits all going -- of course -- into tax cuts for the rich and corporate welfare). Topo maps today are something like $14 per sheet from private dealers, $7 directly from the government; pre-Reagan, passports were $15 (including $2 to the passport photographer).

[kineneb]

13. Cal topo maps, FYI

all of the California topo maps are available for free download at this web site:
http://casil.ucdavis.edu/casil/gis.ca.gov/drg/

I download the ones I need and then crop them in an editing program; in my case, the GIMP. Then just print out the piece you need.

I think several other states have the same service.