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U.S. green-lights drivers licences for border
Homeland security chief says new rule to be implemented in 2008
Posted By Jennifer Pellegrini
News that the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security will accept a secure drivers’ license at land border crossings is being met with cautious optimism in Niagara.
“It is very good news for the tourism industry and for Niagara Falls,” said Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce President Carolyn Bones late Thursday night. “It’s long, long overdue. It’s something a number of people have been pushing for for a number of years, including the Chamber.”
On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the government will implement a rule in 2008, making high-tech drivers licences bearing a person’s country of birth and the so-called “passport lite” pass cards with biometric information on them approved documents alongside the Nexus card and passports as acceptable documents at the Canada-US border.
Having fewer options for border documents, Chertoff said, is “an efficient but more secure way of checking at the border.”
Bones said without knowing exactly what the new drivers’ licences will mean for Ontario residents, she could not make a detailed comment on the announcement.
She said her only concern surrounds the cost of a new drivers’ licence. Her licence is not due for renewal until 2011. People who are getting photos taken now will have valid licences through the end of 2012.
“I would hope that when the Province of Ontario does this, they aren’t going to charge people extra to get it,” she said. “Some kinks need to be ironed out, but on the surface, this is a good thing for the Niagara Falls economy,” she said.
Please see the complete story in Friday’s Review.
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