The U.S. Senate has voted to delay a requirement for passports or other federal identification to cross the Canadian border until mid-2009.
That doesn’t mean it’s law yet — the House must incorporate the measure into its version of a sweeping immigration bill passing through Congress.
But tourism industry officials on the North Olympic Peninsula and South Vancouver Island say they are hopeful that the passport requirement might go away — at least for a while.
“It still has to get through the House side and make it onto the immigration bill,” said Jack Harmon, owner of the Port Angeles passenger ferries Victoria Express and Victoria Express II.
“But we’re thrilled it’s going in the right direction.”
The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to delay until June 1, 2009, that requirement that U.S. citizens show passports or other “secure” federal identification cards when returning from Canada on the Victoria Express or MV Coho ferries — or anywhere else along the border.
The measure was adopted on a voice vote as an amendment to the broader immigration bill in the Senate.
The House passed its immigration bill version in December.
Once the Senate passes its bill, differences between the two versions must be worked out in a House-Senate conference committee.
Canadian ‘happy’
Bruce Carter, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday that he was “certainly happy” with any delay in implementing the requirement that U.S. travelers show passports or a yet-to-be-developed cheaper PASS identification card.
“In our discussions with all the players on both sides of border, it would be a monumental task, if not impossible,” Carter said.
“The delay will provide time to put operations in place to be an efficient system that benefits both our countries.”
