Canadians ages 15 and younger will be exempt from a controversial rule that will eventually require visitors to the United States to show their passports at land and sea borders, Washington announced Thursday.

Children who have the consent of their parents will be allowed to cross the borders at land and sea entry points with certified copies of their birth certificates instead of passports.

Children will not need to show passports when crossing the American border by land.
(Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

Michael Chertoff, the U.S. secretary of homeland security, announced the new rules in a speech before the Detroit Economic Club.

"This is going to make it a lot easier for kids to cross the border without having to get passports and passcards," Chertoff said. "By the way, it's specifically designed to make it cheaper for families."
  
Children ages 16 through 18 who are with school, religious, cultural or athletic groups and are under adult supervision will also be allowed to travel with only their birth certificates.

Chertoff said the exemption is designed make it easier for sports teams, youth groups and school groups to travel across the border for tournaments and events.

Youngsters will not be exempt from the rule that requires all Canadians to carry passports when flying into the United States. That rule went into effect on Jan. 23.

The new passport rules fall under the U.S. government's Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which was designed to toughen border security following the al-Qaeda attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

Under the initiative, Canadians must show passports when flying into the United States, and Americans must show passports when flying back into the United States after a trip to Canada.

By June 2009, the same rules will apply to Canadians ages 16 and older who are entering the United States at land and sea crossings.

Frequent travellers will also have the option of showing special identity cards.

Hints at exemptions for seniors

Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said the relaxation of rules for children entering by land or sea was prompted in part by talks between the department and Canadians and state officials.

Canada and U.S. border states have expressed concern that the passport requirements would interfere with legitimate travel and commerce.

An estimated 40 per cent of Canadians currently carry passports, while only 27 per cent of Americans do. Those statistics have prompted fears that tourism and shipping to Canada will suffer as the passport rules are implemented.

On Wednesday, the premiers of Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick announced they would travel to Washington to raise concerns about the passport rules at the National Governors' Association meeting, taking place from Feb. 25 to 28.

There are suggestions that more exemptions to the rules could be coming. State Department officials hinted an announcement pertaining to seniors could be coming soon.

Chertoff planned to travel to Ottawa for meetings Friday with his Mexican and Canadian counterparts.

With files from the Associated Press