From the Niagara Falls Review:
News that the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security will accept a secure drivers’ licence at land border crossings is being met with cautious optimism by at least one Niagara stakeholder who has long been in support of finding alternatives to passports for travellers.
“It is very good news for the tourism industry and for Niagara Falls,” said Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce president Carolyn Bones late Thursday night. “It’s long, long overdue. It’s something a number of people have been pushing for for a number of years, including the Chamber.”
On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the government will implement a rule in 2008 making high-tech drivers’ licences bearing a person’s country of birth and the so-called “passport lite” passcards with biometric information on them approved documents alongside the Nexus card and passports as acceptable documents at the Canada-U.S. border.