Don White wrote:


On cue, our manufacturing and tourism people are now crying and moaning
about the strength of our dollar. They say sales will start to drop off
as our goods become more expensive. Tourism is down as many Americans
find that Canada isn't the cheap deal it once was. Then we have Bush's
new law requiring a passport or expensive identity card for US citizens
to get back into their own country. Land of the Free indeed!

The law doesn't specifically require a passport. The standard is that
you must be "able to prove to the satisfaction of the Customs examiner"
that you are a US citizen. Depending on the mood or motivation of the
individual customs examiner, this can vary between a simple verbal
interview, "Where were you born, how long were you in Canada, what are
you bringing back? Ok, have a nice day" to a full blown third degree
with "park your car and bring your papers to the office". The reason
the passport has become the default document is that everybody, (even
Customs examiners), is expected to accept a valid US Passport as proof
of citizenship. Sometimes you can get by with a driver's license and a
copy of a birth certificate. (You can usually get by with a photo ID
and a copy of the birth certificate for your own minor children
travelling in your company). But if you get a grumpy examiner who wants
to put you through the most extreme number of hoops, a passport is
going to be needed to prove citizenship.