Passports please...

It may be a bit too late for your summer vacation travel plans, but for those that have International travel on their agenda for after Labour Day and need a passport, could find that the process moves a lot quicker if you take advantage of the travelling Passport Canada unit set for the Northwest next week.

Officials from the Passport Canada Mobile Passport Unit will be making stops in Prince Rupert, Terrace and Kitimat, from July 21st to 23rd, ready to review and accept your completed passport applications and take your payment, as long as you're using a certified cheque or postal or bank money order for your transaction.

Your cheque or money order should say "Receiver General for Canada" on the payment line. Cash, debit or credit cards will not be accepted methods for payment with the Mobile Units.

The need for a passport for travel became a required item as the United States tightened its entry rules over the last year, requiring Canadians to provide more documentation upon their desire to head across the border.

It all makes for a different world for most now than those old days of heading to the airport and making your connections to your sunspot destinations during the rainy months of Rupert.

The Prince Rupert stop takes place on July 21st at the Coast Prince Rupert Hotel, officials from the Passport unit will be accepting your applications from Noon until 8pm.

They move on to Terrace on the 22nd, setting up shop in the Coast Inn of the West from Noon until 8 pm and then finish up their tour of the Northwest in Kitimat at Riverlodge on the 23rd, again from noon to 8 pm.

You can get more information, as well as download your application papers off the net at the Passport Canada website or you can call their toll free number of 1-800-567-6868.