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Immigration See other Immigration Articles Title: Canadians Plan for RFID chipped drivers licenses in response to U.S. regulations The above is my title; i have a newspaper from the Winnipeg Sun from 11/26/07 with the article that outlines their plan to implement RFID chipped licenses (linked to an online database) so that Canadians won't have to use a passport for shopping trips. I haven't found that article online but this editorial makes reference to it. Published Tuesday, November 27, 2007 The Red River flows north - and right now, the Green River is flowing south as Canadian travelers roll down to Grand Forks to spend money. The cash flood makes Grand Forks practically ankle-deep in greenbacks and promises great things for the local economy in the years ahead. Unless, of course, someone builds a dam across the Green River upstream. Let's make sure the U.S. government cancels its plans to do just that. If current policies hold, Canadian travelers will need a passport to visit the U.S. starting in 2009. Considering that only 40 percent of Canadians own passports, the rule seems sure to cut the flood of visitors to a relative trickle. Luckily, Manitoba now has thrown its support behind an important reform: using enhanced driver's licenses, not passports, as border-crossing documents. Manitoba “committed Tuesday to have enhanced driver's licenses for Manitoba motorists by next fall,” the Winnipeg Sun reported. “. . . (T)he important thing about these enhanced licenses is that they may prevent Manitobans from having to get a passport in order to drive to the U.S. . . . Although the Manitoba licenses have yet to be designed, similar cards in Washington state will begin going out to drivers in January. Those will cost $15 more than a regular license and include a radio transmission chip that can be read by a data receiver at the border to match the card's information to an online database.” The U.S. Department of Homeland Security “has yet to approve a plan to allow enhanced licenses to be acceptable ID in lieu of a passport,” the newspaper reported. “However, it's widely expected the department will approve the licenses when it announces the date the final Western Hemisphere Trade Initiative rules take effect.” This development is good news in several respects. First, it makes progress toward a common-sense solution that has been obvious for years. The U.S. Real ID Act, which was passed at the same time as the passport initiative, sets new, passport-like standards for driver's licenses. Given that fact, why not help travelers avoid hassles and expense by letting them use the new high-security licenses as border crossing cards? Washington state agrees, and earlier this year proposed the enhanced-license pilot project mentioned in the Winnipeg Sun story. And if that project succeeds, Homeland Security is “widely expected” to OK the licenses as border-crossing cards nationwide, according to the story. To our knowledge, that's the strongest suggestion yet that Homeland Security is leaning toward this solid reform. It's a great contrast to earlier this year, when department officials were quoted as telling state officials to stop complaining about the passport law and start preparing for it. Next month, the European Union will abolish passport checks on the borders of Poland, Slovakia and other Eastern European countries. The move will pull out some of the Iron Curtain's last rivets and let travelers journey from Paris to Krakow, Poland, without showing their passports even once. If enhanced driver's licenses become the border-crossing card, travel between the U.S. and Canada would be just as convenient while staying reasonably secure. North Dakotans and Minnesotans should support those leaders who're making this happen. - Tom Dennis for the Herald
Poster Comment: Notice how the author ironically promotes chipped IDs in resistance to passport requirements
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