The US department of homeland security must really think us canucks are some bunch of evil. Every so often, somebody from that wing of the US government will float the several times over debunked myth that the Canada/US border is actually a weak point re: US security–hence why the 9/11 terrorists, according to many of these same people, were able to enter the US via Canada (they weren’t actually). The latest idea to be floated by this wing of the US government is a one-off thought that the US should require Canadians visiting to first apply for visas. The idea was floated on the US side of the border at the beginning of the month, and was very quickly–and rightly–poopooed by the Canadian immigration minister. And, surprisingly, by the liberal foreign afairs critic–who never actually agrees with any conservative government official on anything.
We already have to apply for a passport before we even think about crossing the border, which is bloody expensive enough–hi, at least $75 and that’s only if you don’t mind waiting a few weeks to actually receive it. And even that was a tiny bit of a pain in the ass to get my hands on. The wait times for those are even getting a little up there, along with some of their fees. Visas to get anywhere else generally take longer than that, and from what I hear, cost more–suddenly not so worth it if you’re only coming down here for a week or two.
Little things like this tend to escape the twitchy parts of the US government, like senator Lieberman. Fortunately the Canadian government isn’t quite so twitchy. Now, perhaps someone over in Washington will provide this unfortunate senator with a little education on just how the real world actually works. Hey, one can dream. In the meantime, keep this man away from anything to do with border security. Clearly, he know not what he do.