Effective today, Canadians travelling to the U.S. require a passport, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials are committed to flexible, practical implementation.

Canadians without a criminal record will not be turned away at the land and sea border crossings the first instance they forget their passport, enhanced driver's licence or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) card.

"As long as they are otherwise admissible and have a driver's licence and a birth certificate, we will let them in," Boyd Worley, the veteran port officer based in Skagway, told the Star this morning.

"They will be told they are non-compliant, but admitted anyway."

The length and extent of this flexibility is at the discretion of of U.S. officials.

"It will fade out eventually," said Worley, but he doesn't expect Customs to be turning away admissible Canadians in the foreseeable future.

Worley is expecting longer wait times with the new rules, but since about 80 or 90 per cent of Canadians already have passports, he doesn't anticipate an average delay of more than five or 10 minutes.

"The people that are compliant and have a passport, they won't even notice a difference," said Worley. "We have passport readers that can read a passport in two minutes."

In the recent past, wait times for crossing to Alaska have averaged 15 to 20 minutes, but depending on circumstances, such as the number of cruise ships docked in Skagway, wait times can lengthen.

Canadian visitors to the U.S. waited at the border for as long as 90 minutes during the Victoria Day long weekend, said Worley.

The next busy weekend will probably be the July 4 Independence Day weekend, he said.

The flexible approach "is excellent news for Yukoners," Yukon MP Larry Bagnell said Friday.

"I know that many Yukon residents planning to travel to Alaska this summer did not have their Canadian passport yet and now this great news will allow them extra time to get their passports in hand without disrupting their imminent travel plans."

Canadians younger than 16 only need to present proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate of a Canadian citizenship card at the land and sea border crossings.

First nations citizens only need to present their INAC card.

For more information, visit www.getyouhome.gov.