New Border Requirements

The United States had previously announced the requirement for Canadians and returning U.S. citizens to have a passport upon entering or reentering the U.S. Many Canadian businesses and tourism boards were very concerned that this was going to reduce the number of casual trips to Canada.  It would likely reduce the number of planned trips also.  I was surprised to hear that only approximately 40% of Canadians have passports.  I haven't seen the statistics, but I would imagine the number of U.S. citizens with passports is even lower.  However, the U.S. recently announced that it was going to implement a new program called People Access Secure Service (PASS) that will cost nearly half as much as a passport and will be the size of a credit card.  Apparently this card can be read by radio signal also.  Canadian businesses and tourism officials seem to be relieved that the requirements are to be reduced slightly.  However, I cannot imagine how this system is that much better than a passport requirement.  People traveling over an international border are not going to say, $97 is way to much to pay for a passport, but I'll pay $50 bucks for a PASS card.  Besides, people understand passports. There is going to be confusion about what a PASS card is and what it does for you.  I can see some benefit to not having to carry a passport for frequent cross border travel, but that doesn't mean I won't have a passport.  Also, if crossing the U.S. / Canadian border frequently why not just get the NEXUS card?  This program only costs $50 and is a joint program for entering both Canada and the U.S. and also gets you access to the quicker NEXUS lanes at the border crossings. I think we are in a period of transition.  The U.S. wants tighter security at the borders, but thankfully it at least appears they recognize the impact to the economy of both Canada and the U.S. if the borders become to restrictive.