U.S. consul general visits Yarmouth

By Eric Bourque

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

Officials recognize the importance of having a good flow of traffic across the Canada-U.S. border but they acknowledge too the reality of new travel regulations, American Consul General Harold Foster said during a visit to Yarmouth last week.

Referring to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, he said the hope is that the implementation of the land and sea passport rule – slated to take effect “no sooner than June of ‘09” – will go much the same as the passport requirement for air travellers that took effect last year.

“We’ve had 99 per cent compliance with that, so that was really good and we’re hoping that we’ll have a similar level of compliance when the land rule comes into effect,” Foster, who is based in Halifax, said in an interview.

When the new rules become law, people travelling between the two countries will need a passport or “another acceptable document that serves to identify the individual and prove their nationality,” he said.

Asked about concerns people have expressed about the new rules, he said officials are trying to come up with the best solution.

“We’re cognizant of the need to keep the border flowing smoothly for lots of reasons, commercially and socially,” he said, “but we’re also cognizant of the requirement that Congress has said (that) we need to have a better sense of who’s coming and going on the border.”

Foster spoke about the border rules during a noon-hour meeting with the Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday.

“Today border officials are dealing with 8,000 different types of documents…because of all the different kinds of birth certificates and all that kind of stuff,” he said after his chamber address. “The idea is, with WHTI, to bring that down to a much more manageable scope.”

Aside from speaking to the chamber, Foster was planning to visit Yarmouth Mayor Charles Crosby and meet with Frank Anderson of the South West Shore Development Authority to discuss some of the economic issues facing the local area.

He noted that his main reason for being here was to attend a junior A hockey game where a ceremony was to be held in support of Canadian soldiers.

“Supporting the troops is an important thing and I’m happy whenever I get invited to do something like this,” he said.