Traveling Canadians in Britain and the USA - Research Paper Example

Canadians have an easier time traveling internationally than people with passports from many other countries. Write an essay explaining why traveling Canadians generally get a warm reception from most other countries. The use of passports for identification during international travel has a very long history dating back as far as at least 450 BC, when a Persian king issued a letter of permission to travel to the Biblical figure Nehemiah. Because of its tradition of close connections with both Britain and the United States of America the history of passports in Canada has been influenced by the laws of these two countries. As part of the British Commonwealth, Canada followed the passport regulations introduced by Britain and has enjoyed many of the privileges of British international connections throughout the twentieth century. As part of the network of Commonwealth countries Canadians have been able to visit most countries throughout the world with no problems. Canada’s own decision to include both French and English languages means also that the passport is easily understood throughout Africa and other areas where both English and French are commonly spoken. From the middle of the twentieth century onwards there has been a greater emphasis on security between different countries. The two world wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 created mistrust between nations, and a renewed concern to be aware of possible harm that can come from people outside each sovereign nation. In the post-war period Canada stayed largely outside major conflicts like the Vietnam War in South East Asia from 1955-1975. This meant that Canada has avoided the criticisms that were levelled against imperialist countries like the United States: “Anti Americanism increased tenfold by 1969 as a result of the war in Vietnam.” Canadians have a similar culture, language and general outlook to American, but the reputation of the two countries is very different. Canada promotes an image of peace and contentment within its own vast boundaries, and does not seek a dominant presence on the world stage. This cannot be said of the likes of the United States, which repeatedly gets involved in contentious world events. In the latter half of the twentieth century and again in the new millennium, international criticism of American, and to a lesser extent also British and European, involvement in hostilities in the Middle East and Afghanistan has increased still further. In Arab countries there is an understandable suspicion of American and British passports because of a long history of invasions and military actions. However justified these actions may seem to Western countries, they will still cause a negative reaction in the places where they occur. When terrorist capture westerners, for example, they are much more likely to focus on American or British passport holders for acts of retribution because they hold such resentment about past actions undertaken by these countries. An objective measure for checking how welcome a Canadian passport is can be found in the Henley Visa restrictions index, which measures how many countries a person with a particular passport can enter, without having to apply for a special visa: “This is the first time that a global ranking shows the international travel freedom of citizens of the various countries as well as the international relations and status of individual countries relative to others.” In a list of 98 countries, Canada is ranked in 9th place, allowing access to 157 countries, and this is the same as Australia and New Zealand. The United Kingdom and some Scandinavian countries have higher scores around 162-166, and the United States has a slightly higher score of 159. This compares very favourably with countries such as South Africa (88), India (57) China (38) and Afghanistan (26). The factors outlined above show that having a Canadian passport is of general advantage to citizens, mainly because it represents a country which has a positive image abroad, and a low profile in terms of international incidents such as crime, terrorism and fraud. People who have connections with Canada and with other countries less stable than Canada often benefit from their Canadian passport when times of crisis arise. An example of this can be seen in the events of July 2006, when 13,000 holders of Canadian passports were quickly evacuated from Lebanon which was at that time under attack from the Palestinian terrorist faction Hizbollah. This example shows that the holding of a Canadian passport is not just a piece of paper but also a valuable aid in an emergency. The Canadian government takes seriously its duties towards its citizens, even when they are abroad and especially when they are facing crisis or danger, and possession of a Canadian passport is the key to assistance which can save many lives. There is the possibility that this privilege could be abused by some people looking for a kind of insurance, and trying to obtain citizenship only as a matter of convenience, but it is very difficult to do this, because the Canadian government has strict rules about who is entitled to a passport and who is not. There is a possibility, however that some people who want to cultivate a low profile in their international travels, could use an artificial Canadian identity to disguise their real origins. One particularly bad example of this occurred in 1997 and again in 1999 when members of the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, used false Canadian papers: “The agents ended up in custody in New Zealand for document fraud and their secret origins came out in open court, causing an international incident.” These incidents are, however, quite rare and only go to show just how well respected a Canadian passport is in the world. By far the majority of Canadian passport holders are genuine Canadians who are proud to have their citizenship in a country which is so well respected across the globe, and this generally results in more favorable treatment than that given to other national groups. References Anonymous, “I’m a lumberjack, and you’re not.” The Economist. August 3rd, 2006, available online at: http://www.economist.com/node/7260538 Henley & Partners, “International Visa Restrictions.” 1011. Available online at: http://www.henleyglobal.com/citizenship/visa-restrictions/ Passport Canada Website. “History of Passports.” 2011. Available online at: http://www.passport.gc.ca/pptc/hist.aspx?lang=eng Ravel, Jean-Francois. Anti Americanism. San Francisco: Plon, 2003. Woods, Allan. “In spy games, being Canadian has advantages.” TheStar.com online article. Available at: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/830218 Read More