Not too long ago, it was made mandatory for any individual attempting to cross the Canada/United States border, had to have with them a valid passport.
No ifs, ands, buts, maybes or anything else about it.
If you don't have a valid passport, you would not be let on the airplane, or anywhere near it.Even the smoothest talkers won't make their way past this one.
Not long after that, it was also made law that any individual attempting to cross the Canada/United States border by any means other than an airplane (car, bus, transport truck, maybe even pedestrians - although I know of no one who's done that - the same law now applies to them/you/me and whoever else.
While crossing by car into Michigan last summer, the guy at the booth said only one word to me and my friend - "passports?"
Same thing in Washington last summer.
They didn't ask us for passports on our way to Pennsylvania but that was only because it wasn't law. Crazy as this seems, that road trip came only a year or so after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.Crossing the border that day was not fun.
Wasn't fast, either.
They took apart our car.
It took four hours to pass through customs.
When the Yorkton archery team, 13-15 kids most of whom are Gr. 11 or younger, make their way to Florida, passports will probably be the last thing on any of their minds once they get to the airport.
If I heard right, that they could be departing Canada as early as six o'clock in the morning, half of them probably won't even be awake yet.
The guy at the check-in counter probably won't be the least concerned about that, though. As long as each and every one of them has their valid passport on them. It was mentioned last Sunday evening as the archers and a handful of parents gathered together for a BBQ at the York Lake trap shoot club house.
Darren Wandy, one of the team's coaches, happened to mention it near the end of the night.He said that night that part of his responsibilities for the Florida experience is helping to make sure that everyone making the trip has the proper documentation.
Of the two students interviewed that night, neither of them seemed too concerned about making sure they've got theirs. At some point before they leave Canada on the weekend, it's going to come up sooner or later.
When you board an airplane, it is the piece of identification asked for as you as you enter the walkway to the airplane.
A passport is the only reliable and universally accepted identification document, and it proves that you have a right to return to Canada.
According to Passport Canada, a special branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, passports are valid for five years.For children ages 3 and under, they are valid for three years.
As of last July, only 56.2 per cent of all Canadian reported holding a valid passport.It has also been reported that Passport Canada will also start offering Canadians the option of a 10-year validity period as well as the current five year period.
For those making the trip to the States, especially be car, it is highly recommended that you have your passport actually on you and not in the back seat or in the trunk or somewhere that you would have to move in order to get it.
Among the things on everybody's to-do list should be making sure they all have valid Canadian passports.
If there's anything you'd like to see covered by Game 7, please forward your suggestions to the Yorkton This Week sportsdesk by phone (306) 782-2465, fax (306) 786-1898 or email.
