Borderline sacrifice

Taking a casual trip into Canada is about to become a whole lot less casual. Starting in 2008, everyone, including newborns, will require a passport to get back into the United States from our northern neighbor. The change is part of a new law that won't hit Western New York for three more years, but after it's applied to the Caribbean, South America and Mexico, Canada is last on the list, and the impact could be negative on the Buffalo-Niagara economy.

While the law has the potential to hurt U.S. and Canadian businesses, stricter documentation at border crossings will help keep U.S. citizens safe from future terrorist attacks. Because of the new travel requirements, steps should be taken to make the switch as painless as possible to border economies. Lowering the cost of passports and maintaining accelerated-crossing programs like NEXUS and FAST will help make this necessary security issue less obtrusive on both American and Canadian citizens.

The new law will give headaches to millions of Americans and Canadians alike, and probably cut into the millions that cross the border each year. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 13.2 million travelers entered the United States in cars via the two Niagara River bridges in 2004. Another million people crossed on buses, and 37,000 more came across on trains.

A reduction in this through-traffic is bound to have a huge economic impact in the Greater Niagara region. Canadian citizens will be more inconvenienced when they commute to potential jobs held in the Buffalo area, and they will also be less likely to travel to the United States in general, as they were not required to show passports in the past. Opponents of the law point to tourism -- both planned vacations and spur-of-the-moment nights to Niagara Falls -- as the area that will be hardest hit.

In addition, almost two million cargo-loaded trucks entered the United States through New York State crossings, about half of those through Niagara Falls checkpoints. Canadian companies will be forced to raise prices in America because of the increased costs: transportation costs incurred and the decreased efficiency of delivery.

Business losses can be minimized as long as programs like NEXUS, a program that makes crossing easier for people who travel through the U.S.-Canadian border regularly, is maintained and expanded upon.

Holiday Valley, Shea's Performing Arts Center, and the Buffalo Bills and Sabres are all businesses whose revenue income includes money spent by Canadians on a regular basis. The law deals a harsh blow to the tourism industry in Erie County.

The new passport requirement will also cause a large hassle for American citizens traveling to Canada, most of whom many of which do not already own passports. U.S. Department of State statistics show that roughly 63 million Americans have been issued passports since 1996 - only 22% of the U.S.'s total estimated 280 million citizens, assuming those that were issued have been kept.

The recent $12 increase of fees to a robust $97 for first-time passport applicants makes this new law even more imposing, but cutting this cost in half while maintaining the current standards for issuing passports will make the transition even easier.

As long as these modifications are maintained, the new restriction seems to be a reasonable sacrifice. In order to keep America as the land of the free, we will all have to be brave and pay more to wait in line a little longer - a small price for our safety.