No National ID card plans

The federal government is not planning to introduce national ID cards, and instead is recommending that any Canadians planning to visit the US in 2008 obtain passports:

The Conservative government said Tuesday it has no plans to introduce a new national identity card for citizens travelling to the United States and is advising Canadians to obtain a passport if they plan to cross the border once new U.S. security rules are enforced in 2008.

"We are not suggesting at this time that we are launching into a program of a Canadian identity card or anything of that nature," Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said following meetings with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

I'm relieved and a bit surprised that the government isn't doing the stupid thing here: introducing yet another form of government ID. The requirement for Canadians to carry valid passports when entering any foreign country is in no way a special burden: most countries have required this for decades. The fact that the US and Canada have not required this in the past was a friendly gesture, which helped move people and goods across the mutual border with less hassle . . . but the US is well within their rights to stop this arrangement whenever it suits them.

Hat tip to NealeNews.