Complete with laser engravings, holograms and invisible security features, a new drivers' licence proposed by the Ontario government may also be used as a passport for cross border travel.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says the new cards "will put us on the cutting edge of North America."
McGuinty will join Manitoba Premier Gary Doer and New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham on a trip to Washington next week in an attempt to sell Congress on the idea.
"The old card has existed for quite a while, and we now feel that it's time to ensure that the card is used as an identity card, and that people have the confidence of knowing that it is secure," Ontario Minister of Transportation Donna Cansfield told CTV Toronto.
"We believe that the embedded security in the card might be sufficient for the Americans, if they're prepared to accept it," says Cansfield.
Other changes to cross border travel rules include a new provision that exempts children and teens under the age of 17 from having to show a passport when entering the U.S. at land or sea borders. Air travelers will still need a passport.
If McGuinty's proposal is accepted, it won't be until the end of the year that the changes could come into effect.
The U.S. government is set to require passports at land border crossings by June of 2009. But Homeland Security and U.S. State Department officials say the deadline could be moved up as early as the start of next year.
Officials on the Canadian side of the border have been concerned about the potential impact on tourism posed by the change. About 40 per cent of Canadians have a passport, compared to just 27 per cent of Americans.
Secure drivers' licences that include citizenship information are also being developed by several U.S. states. Ontario's licence is said to meet similar technical specifications.
Earlier this month an American legislator called the passport plan a bad idea and introduced a bill that would force U.S. officials to reconsider.
New York Representative Louise Slaughter, who chairs the powerful House rules committee, is pressing for the use of high-tech drivers' licences in lieu of the passport requirement.
Slaughter also backs the Canadian position that U.S. officials should use all the time in a two-year pilot project studying the use of drivers' licences at several border crossings in southern British Columbia and northwest Washington State.
Slaughter, whose district includes Buffalo and Niagara Falls, N.Y., has described her area as being similar to "one country with a river through it."
With files from The Canadian Press
