Basically, the UCP mistrusts us, the citizens of Alberta. It has been my experience that those who are up to no good are the ones who don't trust others. Then, there is the question of why an autocratic government wants to be able to separate people on the basis of a status listed on an identity card.
A police force answerable to this government. A judiciary owing their jobs to Cabinet. What teachers can teach. How one identifies one's sexuality. Medical practices defined by politicians not medicine. Where does it end. What is their agenda?
When the provincial Justice Minister Amery gave himself full immunity from prosecution in December 2025 I think that clearly told us all we need to know. When the Justice Minister is breaking laws that points to a corrupt government. Can you imagine if Minister of Justice Sean Fraser did that. Albertan’s would be screaming at the top of their lungs. Alberta Justice Minister does it and not even a peep from anyone.
There are 2 issues we need to address. The illegal release and use of our voter information needs to be taken seriously by the Premier. I do not feel secure knowing that some of my personal data is floating in cyberspace, downloaded onto hard drives belonging to whomever and might be being used for who knows what? And now, I will be expected to hand over my photo ID to all kinds of people for different reasons and hope that my health care number is not being compromised.
This another diversion, meant to draw our attention away from the laundry list of failures and scandals created by the UCP.
Indeed this is classic Smith and Co. Solutions looking for a problem, like their trans policy, healthcare restructuring(not reform), coal policy(nobody really wants it and we could be using high quality coke from the tar sands- it’s a byproduct and at least 25% cheaper)and privatization of education (is it really about choice though?). These people operate on grievance and culture war b.s. generated in the MAGA camp. Whatever happened to evidence based policy? Responsible government has drifted into conspiracy and grift. Let’s throw the bums out before they completely destroy the province.
What happens if a 14-year-old's parents can't afford ID cards for their family? What if they can afford them but do not get them? What if such a child needs medical care and shows up at an emergency room without a card? Are we at the point where poverty or parent or guardian beliefs are enough to deny medical care to minor children? How very American.
How does a senior confined to bed in a care centre get a transfer ambulance to take them to a registry office so they can be photographed and sign for their new Alberta ID/health card? Who pays for that? Are there enough ambulances for all the people who will need them? Who pays for private care aides to accompany them? They’ll need help getting off the stretcher and into the chair for the photo. If the patient is not mentally competent, would the signature of their power of attorney or legal guardian suffice?
What about people who are sick in hospital when their licence expires? Will they get a surprise bill because they missed the expiry date for their ID card? Will they also have to be removed from care, perhaps while in a coma in ICU, in order to get an ID card to continue getting care? Will they be dumped on the street the day after their card expires?
I suspect the UCP has considered that very issue carefully. They are on top of it. Their solution will be another "Health Care Silo" designed to track all the people who have cards and don't have cards, while appointing more big buck donors to executive positions. It will all work smoothly in the end. The goals of UCP health policy will be achieved. Make our donors (not supporters) rich.
My information is currently kept in these discrete Ministries and applications:
Service Alberta-Registries - birth certificates, marriage status
AB Transportation - drivers license information.
AB Health - Health card information
My information is getting old here - but none of the above "talk to one another". They are standalone.
My Canadian passport information (my citizenship) is maintained by the Canadian Federal Government.
I have seen nothing from this godawful go-fast/break everything sleazy UCP government on how the information from these Alberta discrete systems are being shared, vetted, integrated etc. I've seen nothing about how data is going to be shared/pulled from Federal Government re the key bit of information - citizenship. I'm willing to bet the Feds are steaming mad over this - but what the hey, fuck it, we're Alberduh and we are perma-mad at Feds and besides, what could possibly go wrong?
Here is my anxiety - When I provide the paper copies, along with my Federal passport to get this already-panned AB identity card, are these documents being examined and merely verified?
Or is the information being collected as discrete bits of information at the private registry agency office into yet another dedicated application?
If so, Jesus Himself save us. Never mind the unnecessary data duplication. The potential for data entry errors alone make this horrifying. Given the track record of these UCP cheapskates, it will likely be a sole-sourced hotsy sorta-fit-the-requirements piece of version 0.1 shrink wrap proto-code model thats going to be frankensteined by its US-based or offshore application team into approximate shape without much thought given to security, data sovereignty or privacy controls for millions of dollars in cost overruns - 'cause thats how slop-ass 'Berduh UCP apparatchiks do software design.
One more thing - did the UCP brain trust even talk to other provinces on this problem? Methinks the squealing from the Privacy Commissioner, probably not, as 'Berduhans are smarterer and don't need no learnin'.
This has the potential to make the voter registry hack look like a doddle.
I renewed my driver’s license last week, 16 months early, in hopes that this awful project will be abandoned before I have to renew it again in 5 years. I took it from the registry agent that I was not alone in doing so.
We are all the enemy of the UCP. That is the party line. Because every single Albertan is, well busy living their lives, the UCP keeps us distracted by policy and action so the real "problems that need a solution" are forgotten. Health care fraud? Where do we know there was health care fraud? The UCP. Voter fraud? Who eliminated the powers of Elections Alberta to investigate such fraud? The only people who will buy this whole show are those who have willingly given up their rights to free thinking and/or never were capable of critical anaysis. Those think critical thinking is what Pierre Poilievre does, criticize.
My driver's license is my driver permit & ID. My health card # is stored at my health providers. I took a photo of it as backup. I have my passport & birth certificate stored safely until there's a requirement for them.
I fear the pointy heads are just going on about the immigrant thing...
The conservative desire to fix a problem that does not exist is a hallmark of conservatism. Couple that with the incompetence and ineptitude that conservatism has long displayed, means there's no way this ridiculous idea will ever be successful. Conservatives are just incapable of doing anything that isn't fucked up, idiotic, or ridiculous. The downside is that we all suffer. Conservatism should be branded a mental illness, especially the current form of it.
Trusting this ill-advised move will be reversed before I have to renew my DL. And what about all those Albertans who don’t drive but ARE entitled to health services?
You've correctly raised the issues with respect to the elderly, children, those who are hospitalized, and those who are improvished. Such as the houseless, for whom obtainjng and preserving valid ID is a significant challenge (you know, no fixed address for but one thing).
It has been the case for many years that the personal ID of persons serving a period of time in prison is "lost", and they have to start over on trying to reacquire it on release. This presents a significant challenge to reintegration. And keep in mind, about 80% of all those imprisoned in Alberta are imprisoned in provincial jails, so are serving less than 2 years. In fact, the average length of imprisonment in an Alberta jail is 32 days. That's long enough to lose your job, your residence, perhaps your relationship, and probably your ID.
The last thing is of course that since driver licences expire every 5 years, that will now be the case with health care as well (as you point out). But that has to be contrary to the Canada Health Act, and in all likelihood s.7 of the Charter.
Having gone through my driver's licence expiring (because the Alberta Government stopped sending out notification of upcoming expiry), I've experienced being denied boarding because the licence I showed for ID required to board a plane had expired. Even though it is my picture on it, and all the information (address, birthdate, etc) is unchanged, it is no longer able to serve as identification. How does this make sense? I do have a passport, and it was valid, but I never take it with me for domestic travel.
Would I now be denied health care if the card has expired. Would I not be able to vote if the card has expired? The right to vote is a constitutional right.
As I have mentioned in previous comments, the Alberta Public Service will have pointed out all these things to the Government, as well as the potential future fiscal issues. And, as in all th other cases, it is apparent the Government (UCP) simply does not care about any of this. It is a distraction from the scandals, and immigrant blaming. Straight out of hte MAGA playbook.
As always, the UCP's solution to a problem that doesn't exist winds up causing actual problems that the taxpayers of AB pay to clean up.
Basically, the UCP mistrusts us, the citizens of Alberta. It has been my experience that those who are up to no good are the ones who don't trust others. Then, there is the question of why an autocratic government wants to be able to separate people on the basis of a status listed on an identity card.
A police force answerable to this government. A judiciary owing their jobs to Cabinet. What teachers can teach. How one identifies one's sexuality. Medical practices defined by politicians not medicine. Where does it end. What is their agenda?
When the provincial Justice Minister Amery gave himself full immunity from prosecution in December 2025 I think that clearly told us all we need to know. When the Justice Minister is breaking laws that points to a corrupt government. Can you imagine if Minister of Justice Sean Fraser did that. Albertan’s would be screaming at the top of their lungs. Alberta Justice Minister does it and not even a peep from anyone.
What is their agenda?
Fascism and joining Trump's US.
There are 2 issues we need to address. The illegal release and use of our voter information needs to be taken seriously by the Premier. I do not feel secure knowing that some of my personal data is floating in cyberspace, downloaded onto hard drives belonging to whomever and might be being used for who knows what? And now, I will be expected to hand over my photo ID to all kinds of people for different reasons and hope that my health care number is not being compromised.
This another diversion, meant to draw our attention away from the laundry list of failures and scandals created by the UCP.
Indeed this is classic Smith and Co. Solutions looking for a problem, like their trans policy, healthcare restructuring(not reform), coal policy(nobody really wants it and we could be using high quality coke from the tar sands- it’s a byproduct and at least 25% cheaper)and privatization of education (is it really about choice though?). These people operate on grievance and culture war b.s. generated in the MAGA camp. Whatever happened to evidence based policy? Responsible government has drifted into conspiracy and grift. Let’s throw the bums out before they completely destroy the province.
Exactly always about conspiracies instead of proof
What happens if a 14-year-old's parents can't afford ID cards for their family? What if they can afford them but do not get them? What if such a child needs medical care and shows up at an emergency room without a card? Are we at the point where poverty or parent or guardian beliefs are enough to deny medical care to minor children? How very American.
How does a senior confined to bed in a care centre get a transfer ambulance to take them to a registry office so they can be photographed and sign for their new Alberta ID/health card? Who pays for that? Are there enough ambulances for all the people who will need them? Who pays for private care aides to accompany them? They’ll need help getting off the stretcher and into the chair for the photo. If the patient is not mentally competent, would the signature of their power of attorney or legal guardian suffice?
What about people who are sick in hospital when their licence expires? Will they get a surprise bill because they missed the expiry date for their ID card? Will they also have to be removed from care, perhaps while in a coma in ICU, in order to get an ID card to continue getting care? Will they be dumped on the street the day after their card expires?
This will be a nightmare for health care providers, and I can guarantee that healthcare records will be lost, and usually at an inopportune time.
I suspect the UCP has considered that very issue carefully. They are on top of it. Their solution will be another "Health Care Silo" designed to track all the people who have cards and don't have cards, while appointing more big buck donors to executive positions. It will all work smoothly in the end. The goals of UCP health policy will be achieved. Make our donors (not supporters) rich.
Nah. They wouldn't do that. ..... Would they?
Great article - I have some comments:
My information is currently kept in these discrete Ministries and applications:
Service Alberta-Registries - birth certificates, marriage status
AB Transportation - drivers license information.
AB Health - Health card information
My information is getting old here - but none of the above "talk to one another". They are standalone.
My Canadian passport information (my citizenship) is maintained by the Canadian Federal Government.
I have seen nothing from this godawful go-fast/break everything sleazy UCP government on how the information from these Alberta discrete systems are being shared, vetted, integrated etc. I've seen nothing about how data is going to be shared/pulled from Federal Government re the key bit of information - citizenship. I'm willing to bet the Feds are steaming mad over this - but what the hey, fuck it, we're Alberduh and we are perma-mad at Feds and besides, what could possibly go wrong?
Here is my anxiety - When I provide the paper copies, along with my Federal passport to get this already-panned AB identity card, are these documents being examined and merely verified?
Or is the information being collected as discrete bits of information at the private registry agency office into yet another dedicated application?
If so, Jesus Himself save us. Never mind the unnecessary data duplication. The potential for data entry errors alone make this horrifying. Given the track record of these UCP cheapskates, it will likely be a sole-sourced hotsy sorta-fit-the-requirements piece of version 0.1 shrink wrap proto-code model thats going to be frankensteined by its US-based or offshore application team into approximate shape without much thought given to security, data sovereignty or privacy controls for millions of dollars in cost overruns - 'cause thats how slop-ass 'Berduh UCP apparatchiks do software design.
One more thing - did the UCP brain trust even talk to other provinces on this problem? Methinks the squealing from the Privacy Commissioner, probably not, as 'Berduhans are smarterer and don't need no learnin'.
This has the potential to make the voter registry hack look like a doddle.
I renewed my driver’s license last week, 16 months early, in hopes that this awful project will be abandoned before I have to renew it again in 5 years. I took it from the registry agent that I was not alone in doing so.
We are all the enemy of the UCP. That is the party line. Because every single Albertan is, well busy living their lives, the UCP keeps us distracted by policy and action so the real "problems that need a solution" are forgotten. Health care fraud? Where do we know there was health care fraud? The UCP. Voter fraud? Who eliminated the powers of Elections Alberta to investigate such fraud? The only people who will buy this whole show are those who have willingly given up their rights to free thinking and/or never were capable of critical anaysis. Those think critical thinking is what Pierre Poilievre does, criticize.
My driver's license is my driver permit & ID. My health card # is stored at my health providers. I took a photo of it as backup. I have my passport & birth certificate stored safely until there's a requirement for them.
I fear the pointy heads are just going on about the immigrant thing...
The conservative desire to fix a problem that does not exist is a hallmark of conservatism. Couple that with the incompetence and ineptitude that conservatism has long displayed, means there's no way this ridiculous idea will ever be successful. Conservatives are just incapable of doing anything that isn't fucked up, idiotic, or ridiculous. The downside is that we all suffer. Conservatism should be branded a mental illness, especially the current form of it.
Trusting this ill-advised move will be reversed before I have to renew my DL. And what about all those Albertans who don’t drive but ARE entitled to health services?
For those of us who don’t drive we have an Alberta ID card that for all intents and purposes looks like a drivers license…
You've correctly raised the issues with respect to the elderly, children, those who are hospitalized, and those who are improvished. Such as the houseless, for whom obtainjng and preserving valid ID is a significant challenge (you know, no fixed address for but one thing).
It has been the case for many years that the personal ID of persons serving a period of time in prison is "lost", and they have to start over on trying to reacquire it on release. This presents a significant challenge to reintegration. And keep in mind, about 80% of all those imprisoned in Alberta are imprisoned in provincial jails, so are serving less than 2 years. In fact, the average length of imprisonment in an Alberta jail is 32 days. That's long enough to lose your job, your residence, perhaps your relationship, and probably your ID.
The last thing is of course that since driver licences expire every 5 years, that will now be the case with health care as well (as you point out). But that has to be contrary to the Canada Health Act, and in all likelihood s.7 of the Charter.
Having gone through my driver's licence expiring (because the Alberta Government stopped sending out notification of upcoming expiry), I've experienced being denied boarding because the licence I showed for ID required to board a plane had expired. Even though it is my picture on it, and all the information (address, birthdate, etc) is unchanged, it is no longer able to serve as identification. How does this make sense? I do have a passport, and it was valid, but I never take it with me for domestic travel.
Would I now be denied health care if the card has expired. Would I not be able to vote if the card has expired? The right to vote is a constitutional right.
As I have mentioned in previous comments, the Alberta Public Service will have pointed out all these things to the Government, as well as the potential future fiscal issues. And, as in all th other cases, it is apparent the Government (UCP) simply does not care about any of this. It is a distraction from the scandals, and immigrant blaming. Straight out of hte MAGA playbook.
Thanks for making a comlpicated issue much clearer to understand.
I agree with your outline and prediction of the eventual outcome.
Brian Inglis
"The problem is that the practical costs of this particular solution are likely to exceed its benefits."
That sounds like a description of most UCP policies.