Hi John,

DON'T PANIC.

According to this page:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2224.html

...the land travel requirements don't change until December 31, 2007.

Notice that it's the U.S. Gov't that's changing the rules. The
regulations are NOT Canadian. The Canadian Gov't is not happy with
this, but they're unlikely to inflict passport requirements on US
Citizens. Which is a moot point anyway, because a US Citizen will
still need a passport to get home.

Unless you need a passport for some other reason, there's no need to
rush out and waste time and $$$ on passports just yet. So far we're
just talking about a PROPOSAL.

With a family of five I am looking at a major expense to get my
family across the border to attend American VW Events. And you can
rest assured that I am not spending the $$$ on a passport until I
need it; by the time it's REQUIRED a brand new passport will already
be halfway to expired. I'd sit tight until at least summer 2007
before I buy a passport that I won't need until April 2008.

This is just another example of useless bureaucracy in action. All
the 9/11 terrorists travelled with valid passports. If the Canadian
Gov't could simply move our immigration and customs inspections onto
foreign soil then we could make it a lot harder for people to abuse
our refugee system and maybe then the US Gov't might cut us some
slack. But don't hold your breath. Sigh.

Happy trails,

Greg Potts
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

1973/74/79 Westfakia Conversion **Bob the Tomato**  LY3H
1977 Sunroof Automatic L63H/L90D
1988 Vanagon GL 8-passenger Automatic
http://www.pottsfamily.ca/westfakia
http://www.busesofthecorn.com

On 7-May-05, at 4:58 PM, John Rodgers wrote:

> Have heard through several sources that new Canadian regulations will
> require persons entering Canada from the USA to have passports
> shortly.
> This did not use to be a requirement for US citizens - only a valid
> drivers license was needed.
>
> Not so any more.
>
> Don't get caught short. There is going to be a major rush on passports
> for a time and it takes a while to get one under any circumstance.Any
>
> Do it now!!
>
> Regards,
>
> John Rodgers
> 88 GL Driver
>
>
>