BC launches driver’s licences to serve as passport alternative

British Columbia is launching the initial phase of its enhanced driver’s licences (EDLs), a proposed alternative to the passport that will be required to enter the United States at its land and water borders no earlier than June 2009.
The EDL program is in response to the U.S. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), which is now in effect for air travel. It is slated eventually to be in effect for land and sea travel as well.
The WHTI requires all travellers, including U.S. and Canadian citizens, to present a valid passport or other secure document when travelling to the U.S. from within the western hemisphere, a joint federal and provincial release says.
Alternate documents to a passport include NEXUS and FAST cards, both of which leverage radio frequency identification technology, the Department of Homeland Security Web site says.
The B.C. EDL program will begin as an initial phase in which 500 EDLs will be offered at designated Driver Services Centres in Richmond and Cloverdale, the release says.
“The enhanced driver’s licence is a new, voluntary option for drivers that allows for more convenient travel to the U.S.,” Premier Gordon Campbell said in a statement.
“Since 2006, British Columbia has worked with the Government of Canada and Washington state to develop an enhanced driver’s licence that will meet the new U.S. requirements at the border.”