Passport Law "What affect will it really have"

i was in buffalo visiting my grandparents this past weekend, and i was under the impression that you needed a passport starting in 2006. because of this, i didn't go over into canada when i stopped by in niagara falls. the passport is no big deal to me; my grandparents have a cottage on lake erie and i go up to the beach every summer to see them. for me, a passport is no big deal; it's just a matter of knowing that you need it for border crossing. and it's not canada that wants to see the passports, the problem is for americans getting back into the united states.

i don't think it's a big deal. the only real problem is making sure people know about the law. passports are needed to get into or out of other countries so many people are prepared already.

I don't think it will be that big of a deal. Most Canadians already use a passport when crossing, and really, the Americans who are likely to come to Canada, generally the middle-upper class people, will already have one. I think the media is just making a big deal over nothing. There might be a temporary drop but it's not like all the tourists centres of Canada will suddenly collapse. I think SARS did more damage then this will ever do.

This will have a big effect on casinos and other gambling places like Fort Erie bingo halls. How many of our stereotypical cocky wife beater shirt moustache low or middle income male Americans do you know carries a passport? So the biggest impact will be on the gambling sector.

Tourism sector will take a hit. If the Rochester/Toronto ferry was still around it would have been killed off.

For trading I don't think it'll have much of an impact unless now all truckers need to have a passport to cross.

Steeltown said:

How many of our stereotypical cocky wife beater shirt moustache low or middle income male Americans do you know carries a passport? So the biggest impact will be on the gambling sector.

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The biggest hit that bingo halls are facing will be the smoking ban, not only on border towns but across the province. Since they aren't being considered "gaming establishments" by the government, they're going to lose their biggest crowd.

I just don't see this having an effect that much of tourism, especially in NF. I think the casino that is/will be opening outside of Buffalo will have the biggest impact, especially considering they're suppose to have more slots and pay out in US$. And, the people who are most serious about betting will probably still get the passport if it's really that big of a deal.

dchengg said:

well this is for security reasons, but then i think theyre getting too far, as you know were best friends with the USA and theyre doing all this making us feel like we mean harm to them.

Because of this it has ruined my winter vaction making it unsuccessful to go over to the USA w/ my parents.

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I was in Niagara Falls last summer and crossing from Canada to US was a complete ball ache. Those customers bods are very far from friendly and they took ages to process the documents. We had to get a flight from Buffalo and we could easily have missed it. I'd advise anyone to give themselves plenty of time when factoring in crossing through customs. That said, when I went from Seattle to Vancouver by train, the customs there was a breeze.

Maybe the customs will let US passport holders through much quicker than those with EU or other passports.

going through customs has always been easy for me, sometimes too easy. i cross the border several times a year, so our license lpate must be in a database and they probably can see if we're bad people or not. around half the times all they ask is "where are you from?... where are you going?... see you later." getting back into the u.s. is a little harder, and in the past couple of years they've asked me for id on occasion, but coming back isn't hard at all either.

As many of you know, I follow things closely for the Niagara Falls Blog. There are still a lot of great things happening in the Falls (Great Wolf Lodge, Fallsview Waterpark, Niagara SkyWheel, etc.) I think it is too early for panic. There is nothing firm yet as to what the law will be or what people will be required to use. There is a lot of political pressure being applied on both sides of the border, so it is still possible that things will turn out better. Niagara Falls will survive. It always has, but it might be a tough road for a while.

I don't think making truckers carry a passport will hurt our economy. I think most already do because it just speeds up the entire process, and currently, to transport certain chemicals into the US the MUST have a passport. Canadian passports aren't really expensive either. It's $87 for a 24 page, $92 for a 48 page + the cost of photos. The processing time varies but I think overall, anyone who needs one can get it easily.

I disagree, I personally know alot of truck driver's, and most don't have passports. Plus many who have there AZ, make day trips for certain companies for extra cash, I don't think they will continue. And will overseas companies invest here if they know that these two strong trading partners no longer have somewhat fluid access. I am all for a stronger safer border, we never want to see what happened on sept 11, to ever happen again, but you have to be realistic about passing a law that could interfere with an allready unstable economy. Has everyone involved with this process thought this through with everyone and everything in mind.

buckster said:

Has everyone involved with this process thought this through with everyone and everything in mind.

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While I agree that passports don't help, if it speeds up the entire crossing time for truckers then I think it will have the opposite effect. I know when I used my Birth Certificate and Liscence to cross the border they always asked more questions but when I used my passport they took a glance at it, asked a few questions and I was in. The big problem right now for the trucking industry is lost time while crossing the border due to lines and this will likely help get them across faster, saving money for businesses and ensuring money isn't lost. Really, if a $80 passport helps saves thousands of dollars in fuel and early deliveries then I think most truckers will agree it's a better idea.

Steeltown" said:

If there going to start forcing every trucker to carry a passport than the federal government better make passport free for truckers and start hiring more employees because I believe you have to wait 6 months to get a passport.

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I agree that they should fire more employees and open more offices (they haven't done it in a while and it's needed) but really, a passport isn't that expensive nor complicated to get. I could see there being problems if the US just imposed this all of the sudden but there is lots of time before this is enforced. There has been talk about this for the last 18 months about it, so they've had lots of time to get it. If they're idiots enough to have leave it to the last minute they can get it within 24 hours for only $70 more. BUT there's still eigth months, and the longest I know it took someone to get a passport is eight weeks.