Thank you very much for that question. This is an issue we have been working on very closely with our counterparts in the U.S. As I'm sure you know, there has already been one delay in the implementation of the passport requirement, for land. It's in place now for air and seems to be working, after a period of adjustment.
With regard to the June deadline, what we're being told is that the U.S. feels that the numbers of people requesting and getting passports is increasing greatly. Here in Canada, we've dealt very well with the backlog of passport demands that we had and are in very good shape ourselves in moving forward for the June deadline.
At this stage of the game, we're watching it very closely with the U.S. Public Safety and our passport office are working closely with their counterparts. We do not anticipate, at this stage, a delay. If there is a delay, it will be because the U.S. feels that the number of passports, for the people who require passports, has not increased adequately. Our understanding is that the June deadline is going to hold, and the feeling on both sides of the border is that people are getting their passports in sufficient numbers to deal with what we anticipate will be a relatively smooth implementation.
As we get closer to the deadline, there may be an adjustment period. We're talking to the U.S. about that right now. Certainly we will push for a delay if we feel it's needed. We were successful in obtaining the first delay, with the U.S. determining to delay until June from January. But at this stage, I think the feeling is that both sides of the border are attempting to adjust to the June 1 deadline. Perhaps we should have the experts in this area meet with you to report from the perspective of our passport office.
But at this stage, our discussions with the State Department and Homeland Security indicate that the deadline will hold and that the uptake of passports is adequate to deal with the smooth flow back and forth across the border.