Alberta’s Official Opposition renewed its call asking the province to reconsider integrating personal health-care numbers and citizenship markers with driver’s licences on Wednesday, saying the government is creating barriers for some residents trying to renew their identification. The Alberta NDP presented its criticism as an election plank of sorts, proposing how they would “fix” the ID card hiccups. It comes as the party presented its latest censure of the United Conservative Party government’s introduction in July of the integrated cards, illustrating the case of Elizabeth Walden, a Grande Prairie resident who says she was repeatedly turned away while trying to renew her ID in recent weeks. Brar said Walden, who has lived in the northern Alberta city for more than 30 years after immigrating to Canada in 1975, has made four attempts to renew her Alberta identification since early July. He said the Canadian citizen was repeatedly asked for documents she didn’t possess, despite presenting several Canadian birth certificates, including one from national defence, and a health card. Gurinder Brar, the Opposition’s Shadow Minister for Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, said Warren’s story is one of several he and his fellow Alberta NDP MLAs have heard, their offices “swamped with calls and emails” from residents who are “confused and frustrated by the changes being made to their driver’s licences and personal health information.” The province introduced the integrated ID cards on July 2. They incorporate a resident’s driver’s licence with their health number and citizenship. When it introduced the cards, the government said they use security features to help reduce fraud, with Premier Danielle Smith saying late last month that expiry dates for them will also help curb the potential for scams. Brar said the Alberta NDP, if it could, would remove “discriminatory” citizenship markers from the ID card, provide a standalone health card option for residents and “consult registries to streamline policies and ensure that they are properly funded.” In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, Nally defended the new card, saying the number of driver’s licence and identification renewals rose by 33 per cent in July from one year ago. He added that a citizenship marker on the integrated ID “makes it easier for Albertans to prove their eligibility for benefits and programs they’re entitled to, including AISH, student aid and other programs and services,” and that requiring health-coverage renewal brings Alberta in line with every other province except Manitoba. Alberta health cards had long been in the spotlight as being outdated, printed on paper and minus other features such as ID photos like those used in other provinces. An individual’s health number, however, didn’t expire on such cards. The province said in July that acquiring an integrated card would require applicants to present documentation of their legal Alberta residency or proof of Canadian citizenship, and their physical health card. Nally said at the time that the province would grant a one-time, 60-day grace period to people who need time to arrange required documentation.
