The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security said while in Edmonton on Tuesday that certain types of travel will be exempt from new regulations on border crossings between Canada and the U.S.

While speaking to legislators and business leaders from both sides of the border at the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region's annual summit, Michael Chertoff said a "practical approach" is necessary.

Michael Chertoff, shown with U.S. President George W. Bush in this file photo, says Canadians won't have to produce passports in order to enter the United States for some kinds of travel. (Associated Press)

"In particular, we will not be, for example, including in this set of regulations a requirement for passports for ferries or private watercraft, recognizing that this is a particular form of transportation that we don't want to interfere with," said Chertoff.

"We don't want to force it into the model we might use, for example, with international jet flights or international sea travel."

The so-called Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative would require all Canadians and Americans entering the U.S. by air and sea to carry a passport or other secure identification card by Jan. 1, 2007. The start date for land crossings is scheduled for one year later.

Chertoff heralded a new People Access Security Service (PASS) card for American citizens earlier in the year, but officials in Ottawa have expressed frustration over what they claim has been a lack of co-operation and guidelines regarding an acceptable travel document for Canadians.

Harper asks for delay

While in Washington to visit President George W. Bush earlier this month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged the U.S. Congress to push back the current timetable. 

"I would hate to see a law go into place that has the effect of not just limiting or endangering trade or tourism, but endangering all those thousands of social interactions that occur across our border every day," said Harper.

Bush said he was in favour of flexibility but that ultimately he was bound by what Congress decides.

"As I have told Chertoff, who is responsible for implementing the law, I would like, to the extent the law allows, for there to be a lot of flexibility and simplicity," Bush added.

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation last month that would delay implementation of the border plan to June 1, 2009.

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, one of the co-sponsors of that amendment, called the travel pass plans "a train wreck on the horizon."

“It will be far easier and less harmful to fix these problems before this system goes into effect than to have to mop up the mess afterward," Leahy said in a statement.

The U.S. House of Representatives has yet to vote on the matter.

Alberta Premier Ralph Klein and federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day have also addressed the summit, which continues in Edmonton through Wednesday. In addition to security issues, items on the agenda included trade, tourism, energy and the environment.