crossing the USA/CANADA border heads up!

[neppo1345]

Just out of curiosity; What does it take to get your Canadian Passport? I know all it takes to get a U.S. passport is around 100.00, birth cert, picture, the forms filled out correctly, and about a month of waiting.

I will agree with you in feeling that the U.S./Mexico border is much more vulnerable (or is that just what we are programmed to think by the media?).

I personally <3 my northern brothers and sisters.

[wimag]

It's not "just a change in papers" the border before was regulated,
but now it's Openly Armed. And I don't mean Officers carrying a side arm,
I mean beginning June 1, there will be M16's or what ever variant the Border Guards
will be issued, covering the traffic inbound to the USA.
.

apparently you never crossed from Tijuana back into the states. I walked through the customs buildings numerous times and there were Marines carrying M14's. This was 10+ years ago.
I for one see no problem with providing proof of citizenship to get into my country, as i see no problem providing it when i enter another country.

[Lohman446]

Feel good solution. It is an inconveneince for those who are legally travelling, it might stop the stupid criminals. It leaves hundred (thousands?) of miles of border that is not a border crossing station often seperated by nothing more than a berm between two fields and certainly not patrolled enough to stop anyone intent on crossing illegally.

[Destructo6]

until June 1, 2009 Canada and the USA had the worlds longest unprotected border.
the people that want to control and curtail the freedom of the North American People
Both American and Canadian,
HAVE WON AND DEFEATED THE FREE WORLD AS OF THIS DATE.

Coutries in North America:

• Canada
  USA
  Mexico

You seem to have forgotten about that last one.

The US Border Patrol has been on the northern border for a long time. Their long arms are M4s, similar, if not identical to those issued by the US military. Nobody in their right minds goes out into the bush without one.

otherwise you can cross it just about anywhere

Yeah, but the $5000 fine for entering without inspection sucks.

[LK-13]

scenario;
US citizen visits Niagara Falls Ontario Canada on May 29 through June 1, 2009. has a great time, gets throughly polluted on Canadian Beer
(he actually finished off 2 of them before passing out )
but when he tries to go home Monday Morning (June 1, 2009) he does not have his passport.
he is detained.
Investigated.
detained longer.
detained indefinitely.
don't believe it can happen? Think it's only in a Tom Hanks movie?
tell that to the guy that is living in the Airport in Paris France.

to get a Canadian Passport:
provide the correct forms filled out
birth certificate
Photo ID (drivers license, age of majority card, First Nations/Landed Immigrant card)
if no Photo ID letters from 3 notary publics/ justice of the peace
$85.00
14 business days processing (shorter processing time was to accommodate trucking/shipping industries)

sometimes the short sightedness of some people truly frightens me.

and I have been up in arms about the changes in Canada and North America since the early 1980's when I was too young to do anything about it.
by the time i was of age it was too late, the barn was open and the horses were gone.

BTW,
Drugs and weapons coming from Canada INTO the USA?
not bloody likely,
ever look at the Florida coast line?
or along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico?
no i guess nothing ever comes in from Latin America or Cuba, or Columbia.

you really want to see how your freedoms can be eroded away,
read up on "Gun Control Laws in Canada 1972 to Present"
we went from filling out the forms, taking a safety course, getting your license, taking annual exam to get hunting permit, to forget about it, and a registration system that is currently $14 Billion over budget, and we are no closer to knowing who has what.
and record numbers of "GANG BANGERS" are shooting, being shot and shooting by standers in Southern Ontario then at any other time in history!
including the "Rum Running" days when gangsters, REAL Gangsters like Al Capone ran the streets with Tommy guns!

[SCpoloRicker]

...and I have been up in arms about the changes in Canada and North America since the early 1980's when I was too young to do anything about it....

Er; too young? I was reading this as college student; of the liberal arts variety.

I think my version of the internets may be corrupted.

/srsly confused

[Frizzle Fry]

BTW,
Drugs and weapons coming from Canada INTO the USA?
not bloody likely,
ever look at the Florida coast line?
or along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico?
no i guess nothing ever comes in from Latin America or Cuba, or Columbia.

you really want to see how your freedoms can be eroded away,
read up on "Gun Control Laws in Canada 1972 to Present"
we went from filling out the forms, taking a safety course, getting your license, taking annual exam to get hunting permit, to forget about it, and a registration system that is currently $14 Billion over budget, and we are no closer to knowing who has what.
and record numbers of "GANG BANGERS" are shooting, being shot and shooting by standers in Southern Ontario then at any other time in history!
including the "Rum Running" days when gangsters, REAL Gangsters like Al Capone ran the streets with Tommy guns!

I've got to say, I think there are other more effective ways to secure a border than this. The US has always had great relations with Canada, and as a guy who both used to live in northern Maine, and makes frequent trips over the border at Niagra Falls / Toronto, I've seen firsthand that both Canada and the US already take security very seriously.

That said, as a college student (...not for much longer, though :)) in the northeastern US, I've encountered personally what must amount to at least 100 people who have actively engaged in transporting ecstasy and marijuana over the US/Canada border in volume with the intent of selling it... I'm not "in to" either of those things, but if as a non-user I've met that many people, it must be an issue at least to some degree. From loading bales of pot on to the backs of snowmobiles, to packaging ecstasy in baggies and stowing it in false tires and jars of peanutbutter, or even to filling cases of "soda" with beer as a minor (under 21, US), I've heard and witnessed an enormous abuse on the parts of both US citizens and Canadian citizens of the relatively lax border security. Does that mean the upcoming passport policy is warranted? Not necessarily. Will it help those issues? Probably not. All that said, it can't be denied that drugs come in to the US from Canada, possibly due to the traditionally (relatively) lax policies concerning marijuana and alcohol.

Border lockdown? Probably a stupid idea, because statistically you're right; the Florida coastline and Mexican border account for a majority of the drugs and guns that are entering/leaving the US illegally. Those borders will more than likely NEVER be closed due to the alleged (I say alleged in the most literal sense, not trying to start a fight) racism / classism behind the choice to lock them down.

Again, I'm not throwing my support either way on the racism / classism issue, just stating that those allegations have been a major reason for the border staying relatively open (regardless of there being any truth behind them). Those issues never seem to arise when it comes to Canada, due to the relatively common perception in the US that Canada is comprised solely of a white middle class (I believe the most recent survey showed 2.5% of Canadians identify as "black", under 1% "latin american", and 11% "asian american" though most ethnic diversity has been shown in Toronto). Quite frankly, many US citizens won't have a problem shutting down a border that is utilized primarily by a white middle class.

Anyway, as a guy who loves going to Canada once every few months (and having a more than 3 beers before passing out, thank you very much) this is going to suck... I haven't kept my passport updated and it is a bit of a pain (especially post 9/11) to get it re-issued. On the other hand, if in some sort of trickle-down way this helps tighten even slightly the southern boarders of the US, or even the flow of "harder" drugs (i.e. not Mary Jane) into the US, that might be a good thing.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents as both a US voter and a student of sociology.

[Raven001]

Just out of curiosity; What does it take to get your Canadian Passport? I know all it takes to get a U.S. passport is around 100.00, birth cert, picture, the forms filled out correctly, and about a month of waiting.

I will agree with you in feeling that the U.S./Mexico border is much more vulnerable (or is that just what we are programmed to think by the media?).

I personally <3 my northern brothers and sisters.

It's pretty much the same except it doesn't take a month. I haven't had to renew my passport recently but we also required two guarantors, individuals who have known you for a specific period of time and hold a respectable position in society ie: banker, doctor, lawyer etc. There is a new simplified process that assuming you meet all the conditions, removes some ot the older requirements like the guarantor etc.

I suppose most of us who crossed the border had gotten used to just divulging our citizenship and motoring on through. However, as someone who has had to strip for the good old boys at the border, free passage was never guaranteed.

[chafnerjr]

Boy... I really want to be on your side on this... but I just don't think it's that big a deal. Please remember that we in the US have to deal with a National ID tracking system that is much closer to the communist comparison. Now, my beloved state of NH has signed into law a bill that prohibits NH from participating in the US REAL ID system. So we have to stand in a special line at any US airport if we don't have a passport because our State driver's licenses aren't considered good enough for the US Gov. So I hope you can understand why I don't thinks it's a big deal to HAVE to have a passport to cross into another country.

P.S. I love Canada... well, to visit anyways.





P.S. Don't tell me that Canada doesn't have it's fair share of drugs... see even your side of Niagra Falls is trippin'

[Thordic]

I just had to renew my US passport for a trip to Spain this summer, and the turnaround time was two weeks. Just FYI.

[Lohman446]

How many people on snowmobiles walk into a bar and find they have accidentally crossed the border anyways? The vast majority of our borders are unprotected (and will continue to be)

[teufelhunden]

Agree with Thordic - I got a passport in fall 07 and turnaround was roughly 2 weeks.

[Raven001]

I just had to renew my US passport for a trip to Spain this summer, and the turnaround time was two weeks. Just FYI.

It's possible the other US poster was getting an initial issue of his passport. That might warrent extra scrutiny.

p.s. heard from our friend in Burlington lately?

[Raven001]

How many people on snowmobiles walk into a bar and find they have accidentally crossed the border anyways? The vast majority of our borders are unprotected (and will continue to be)

As I recall, there is a house somewhere out west where the border line passes through the living room... Wonder if they'll have to move it

[teufelhunden]

It's possible the other US poster was getting an initial issue of his passport. That might warrent extra scrutiny.

p.s. heard from our friend in Burlington lately?

My anecdote, from above, was an initial passport.

It's also handy to have, counts for a lot of points for NJ's six points of id