Gregoire, B.C. premier urge passport rule hold

OLYMPIA – Washington state and British Columbia urged their national governments Tuesday to delay – and perhaps scrap – a requirement for passports at border crossings.

Gov. Chris Gregoire of Washington and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, to forge closer ties between the neighboring state and province, signed a joint letter to their governments urging a delay until after the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.

In the meantime, they said, the state and province are volunteering to come up with a better identification system, perhaps a specially encrypted driver’s license or personal ID card that would be cheaper and provide greater security screening.

“Free movement of people and goods is critical to our economies,” Campbell told a joint news conference conducted in Vancouver and, via phone hookup, Olympia. Later he added, “We will develop the prototype that will work. You don’t want to create a false sense of security; you want to create security. Let’s do what makes sense.”

Gregoire said the 10 million residents of the state and province have a long tradition of easy border crossings. She acknowledged a need for strong border security and better staffing, but said, “Requiring all travelers to have a passport will significantly alter the quality of life for our citizens and affect the economic prosperity of our businesses, while terrorists will continue to falsify any documents required for travel.”

The United States plans to implement the new requirement for air and sea travel by January and for land crossings by January 2008. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative will require Americans returning to the United States after short visits to Canada and Mexico to show passports or other high-tech ID cards. Currently, a driver’s license usually suffices.

The U.S. Senate recently voted to delay implementation until June 2009. Gregoire said she hopes the new letter will help persuade Congress to stretch it until after the 2010 Olympics.

Campbell’s office said one poll showed that one-third of Americans and Canadians who live near the border would be less likely to cross the border if the requirement stands.

Border governors and premiers have been pushing back. The latest effort includes the new twist of volunteering to serve as a pilot project for a simpler, cheaper, document that couldn’t be as easily forged.

Campbell noted that 50,000 British Columbia residents use a NEXUS card issued by customs and immigration agencies for preapproved, low-risk travelers who make frequent border crossings. Some truckers have FAST cards and can use express lanes at border crossings, he noted.

The two leaders, heaping praise on each other and the 117-year relationship of the state and province, said their meeting was the first to include the cabinets of both governments. They said they plan annual work sessions together.

Transportation ministers agreed to work together to ease congestion at border crossings. Health leaders signed a pact to collaborate on dealing with health emergencies such as a potential pandemic flu outbreak.

Gregoire and Campbell, capping a meeting they called the “Security and Prosperity” summit, signed an expansion of the 1996 Pacific Northwest emergency management compact, agreeing to provide mutual aid in case of earthquake, tsunami, wildfire, terrorist attack or other disaster.

Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and the Yukon Territory will also be asked to sign. Washington and British Columbia will plan joint drills.

“If an emergency hits, we are going to have to work together as good neighbors would,” the premier said.

The premier and governor also agreed to work closely on promoting the Pacific Northwest as a tourism destination, keying on the Olympic Games. About a quarter of the Olympics fans will also spend time in Washington, the premier said.

They also discussed two-way trade, economic development, early childhood education, crystal meth and other issues. The environment will be a subject of future meetings, they said.

Campbell, a former Vancouver mayor, is in his second term as Liberal premier. Gregoire, a former three-term attorney general, is in her first term as governor. She is a Democrat.