Days numbered for birth-certificate border hops.

[jeffreyab]

By PAUL KORING

Wednesday, April 6, 2005 Updated at 1:42 AM EST

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050406.wborder06/BNStory/National/

"Finally, on Jan 1, 2008, the passport or equivalent rule will be imposed at land crossings."

You might have to join the website to read the rest of the article but the basics are that I and anyone else who crosses the border on a regular basis will have to apply for a passport. From the Passport Canada website:

"A fee of $87 is required with your initial application for a Canadian passport. How long is a passport valid for? The period of a passport's validity will vary depending on the age of the passport holder: Adult passport (sixteen years old and over): Maximum of 5 years. Can a passport be renewed? No, you must re-apply by providing a completed application form signed by an eligible guarantor."

Which means people who do not attend church or know any other professional are going to have a hard time.
This is really going to hurt border cities I can see the bigger bars in town including the charity casino getting hit hard.

Comments

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

My banker is not a professional although she might be bonded.

I was not really thinking of me since one of my friends is an engineer.

I was thinking of people who do not have such people in their lives.

The kind of people who use the bars and the casino especially.

Given the back log I want to apply early so I have it by January 2008.

If I want to fly out of Pearson I would have to get it earlier.

Taking the long view as any historian/boy scout/SF fan would.

[kgkofmel.livejournal.com]

It does not really matter if your banker is a "profesional." Persons holding certain types of jobs in financial institutions are recognized as guarantors.

From the Passport Canada website page on Guarantors:
/begin excerpt
All applications must be signed by a guarantor. A guarantor is a person who can confirm your identity or that of your child.

Duties of a guarantor
Your guarantor must perform the following tasks free of charge:
1. Certify the information on the application form by completing and signing the "Declaration of Guarantor" section.
2. Write on the back of one of your or your child's photos, "I certify this to be a true likeness of (your or your child's name)" and sign.
3. If applicable, sign and date the photocopy of your supplementary documentation.

Eligible guarantors for Canadian residents
Your guarantor must:
1. Be a Canadian citizen residing in Canada and must be accessible to Passport Canada for verification.
2. Have known you personally for at least two years.
3. Be included in one of the following groups:
Chiropractor; Judge, magistrate; Lawyer (member of a provincial bar association), notary in Quebec; Mayor; Medical doctor or dentist; Minister of religion authorized under provincial law to perform marriages; Notary public; Optometrist; Person occupying a senior administrative position in a community college (includes CEGEP); Pharmacist; Police officer (municipal, provincial or RCMP); Postmaster; Principal of a primary or secondary school; Professional accountant (member of APA, CA, CGA, CMA, PA, RPA); Professional engineer (P.Eng., Eng. in Quebec); Senior administrator or teacher in a university; Veterinarian
*Retired guarantors are not eligible unless still registered in their professional association.*



Declaration in lieu of guarantor
If you have not known an eligible guarantor for at least two years, complete form PPT 132 "Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor" available from any Passport Canada office.

The "Statutory Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor" form must be sworn or declared before, and signed by, a person authorized by law to administer an oath or solemn affirmation.
/end excerpt

I think the system is set up to allow the majority of people to get a passport, even if they do not personally know an engineer.

[elizilla]

Poorer people who live chaotic lives are often fairly well acquainted with police officers, to the point where local cops will know their names and faces, even though they aren't doing anything criminal.

[kgkofmel.livejournal.com]

Yes. And I was turning over the whole "mayor" thing in my mind, and then I realized that, like the postmaster, if one lives in a small town, one likely knows the mayor and/or the postmaster. In some towns, one is likely *related* to the mayer and/or the postmaster.

[kgkofmel.livejournal.com]

Actually I stand corrected on the banker. I see the whole bank signing officer thing seems to have been streamlined out of the list of guarantors. Relatively recently from the looks of things.