From the National Post:
The U.S. Congress took a major step yesterday toward delaying controversial travel rules that will require Canadians to carry a passport or equivalent document when entering the United States across land and maritime borders.
With fears mounting that the rules will cripple cross-border trade and devastate border communities, negotiators from the Senate and House of Representatives cut a deal to postpone the plan by 17 months, from Jan. 1, 2008, until June 1, 2009.
The move, still subject to final ratification, marks a potentially significant victory for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Only last week, he warned that the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative was poorly thought out and “threatens to divide” Canada and the U.S. just as bilateral relations were on the mend. Ottawa has been pressing U.S. lawmakers to delay the plan or risk billions of dollars in bilateral trade.