You cannot get a Canadian passport unless you have an UNLAMINATED
birth certificate. This is a RULE, which although it makes no
sense, passport office clerks refuse to break. So make sure you
do not laminate your birth certificate. (Canadian passports,
by the way, now cost $60.)
Before you leave the country, make sure your parking tickets
are paid up and there are no outstanding warrants for your arrest
due to unpaid parking fines. The RCMP and U.S. Customs officials
will detain parking ticket bandits and purposely make you miss
your flight. This really happens!
Do you have any useful, obscure pre-travel tips? Send them
to me, and I'll post them on this page: lynnes@interlog.com