If a Canadian passport is like one from the US, it's good for ten years so the cost and inconvenience of getting one aren't that much of a factor. I expect it's the principle of it more than the money. I've crossed my northern border plenty of times, occasionally on the spur of the moment. The southern one, too. I've always held a valid passport but I don't carry it. That would be a real pain. Particularly given their awkward size. So there are practical considerations, too.
Canadian Passports are I think 5 years, I thought mine was right on my desk, but it isn't, and you have to deal with Canada's famed Civil Service to get one. but it could be worse, I suppose, I think for kids, our young people often run across the ditch to party, and people like that it will be a real change. Those of us who grew up partying in American Bars, will be a dying breed. And although no one has mentioned it, those young people, will never get the habit if they don't have a passport when they are young. I think 30 years from now our two countries will mostly be strangers in that most young people will not get the habit of zipping across the border for concerts, hockey games and other events. Watch the buffalo hockey team, if it goes under then passports were too much of a bother. |
