Jay Peak head against passport rule By WILSON RING, Associated Press Writer

Jay Peak head against passport rule By WILSON RING, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 20 minutes ago



MONTPELIER, Vt. - The president of the Jay Peak ski resort says that requiring passports to enter the United States by land from Canada is an "impending disaster" for American businesses that rely on Canadian tourists.

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Bill Stenger said the two or three hour delays some people had while trying to enter the U.S. last month during Quebec's two-week construction holiday last month would only get worse if all travelers needed passports.

"I think the delays at the border will be huge. A lot of Canadians will just say 'I'm not going, I'm not going to spend the money,'" said Stenger, whose northern Vermont ski resort, which has a golf course for summer guests, gets half its business from Canada.

"Homeland Security could give a damn about the economy," Stenger said. "There's a very important economic energy which exists with Quebec and Ontario which may be stifled and maybe killed. This is very serious."

Stenger said that rather than go to the trouble of getting a passport Canadians would go to Canadian ski resorts.

"I'm worried about Canadians feeling welcome to come to this country," Stenger said.

He praised efforts by Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy to delay the passport requirement until the middle of 2009.

The Department of Homeland Security had set a date of Jan. 1 2008 for when travelers would need passports to enter the United States by land from Canada and Mexico. But that was pushed back after months-long delays followed the implementation in January of a passport requirement for people traveling by air between the U.S., Canada, Mexica and the Caribbean.

Now the passport requirement was pushed back until next summer.

But Leahy sponsored an amendment that has received wide bipartisan support that would push that requirement back until mid 2009.

Still, under current plans, on Jan. 31 people will need a driver's license and birth certificate to enter the United States by land from Canada.

Many Canadians along the border were complaining last month about the long lines caused by the Quebec construction vacation. Stenger said his business wasn't hit too hard by that because many of his customers know to cross at the less traveled border posts.

"It's predictable there will be a heavy influx of Canadians into the state" in July, Stenger said. "There's a certain amount of delay from time to tome. Two and three-hour delays are unaccetable."