ST. PAUL - Service Alberta has come out in support of the St. Paul Registry Office following a gathering outside the office Thursday led by a Saddle Lake resident who had been denied an Alberta driver’s license.
Anita Large said she was simply attempting to transfer her British Columbia driver’s license to an Alberta license on July 31 when the registry office refused to accept her status card as a legitimate form of ID as it is was not a federally issued secure status card.
“They said I needed a federally issued ID to prove I’m Canadian,” Large said, explaining that she asked if an “Indian status card” would work and was told it would. However, when she pulled out her laminated status card she was informed by the clerk that it could not be accepted.
“I said this is a federally issued status card, and I pointed to the emblem and she said no that wasn’t federally issued . . . I’m really bewildered at this point.”
As of February 2019, all new and renewed Secure Certificates of Indian Status are issued with a machine-readable zone on the back of the card that contains cardholder information which is already displayed on the front. A Certificate of Indian Status, or status card, is still issued in some band offices.
These laminated cards are still valid but not when it comes to federal motor transport best practices.
“We understand this is a difficult situation for those involved. We can confirm that St. Paul’s Registry was following Alberta’s motor vehicle policy, which is in keeping with the federal government’s motor transport best practices,” Tricia Velthuizen, press secretary to Service Alberta Minister Nate Glubish, stated Friday.
“Those best practices identify the Secure Certificate of Indian Status Card (SCIS), issued by the Government of Canada, as the only acceptable Indian status card that can be used as proof of Canadian residence when exchanging a driver’s license from another province. The SCIS is verified as coming from a secure and government-approved issued source and contains the appropriate security features that help verify the individual’s true identity.”
Large, who returned only recently to her home at Saddle Lake after living for many years in B.C., said she explained to the registry’s clerk that she is unable to obtain the SCIS due to COVID-19 and reduced services through the federal department. However, the registry office was not prepared to accept the card she presented as an option and she could not convince them otherwise.
“It didn’t hit me until after that I had just been discriminated against . . . The pain was very real and raw.”
It was this belief that resulted in Large initiating a “walk of awareness” from her home in Saddle Lake, leaving at 4:30 a.m., to the registry office in St. Paul. With a group of about 30 supporters, including Saddle Lake acting chief Darcy McGilvery and band councilors Pamela Quinn and Leonard Jackson, Large addressed her concerns directly with registry office operators Darryl and Darren Poirier in front of the registry’s office.
“It touched so many of our status First Nations in Saddle Lake, Goodfish and others across the territory. They understand that pain and hurt I felt last Friday in your place of business,” explained Large as she told them of a video she had posted about her experience. She expressed hope that all could move forward in a better way.
“We don’t expire as Indians nor does the number of any of the different Indian status cards that are federally issued,” Large said inviting the Poiriers and their registry staff to visit the band office and tour the First Nation.
Darryl said his office “has to do what is given to us to work with. We want to give service. The lady who served you, as you know, is Métis, speaks Cree . . . and we have no malice against anyone and want to give good service but we have to follow the rules as given to us and that’s all we can do.”
He expressed his hope that they could work together to get cooperation from the province to work on resolving the issue.
“We’ve been down this road many times with the township of St. Paul. We’ve sat with the mayor, we’ve sat with the MLA . . . and the promises were made that the treatment of our Indigenous population would change. It would be respected, that relationship. I can’t say we haven’t done baby steps, there is some progress but we need something more in terms of action,” McGilvery said speaking on behalf of Saddle Lake chief and council. “Many times we felt our people are ill-treated. Maybe the business owners might not feel that way but we do because of the colour of our skin, because of the background, the history, the stigma, the belief, the education . . . Today, on behalf of Saddle Lake, we speak loudly to St. Paul . . so they can hear, again, we are serious.”
Later, following a Lakeland This Week interview with Large, Darren attempted to further explain things.
“The instructions that we’ve been given is that because you were opening a new file, a new driver’s license, even though you had one long ago, that is not how the registries looks at it . . . Our instructions from the Alberta government were you can’t use the laminated status card for that purpose,” Darren explained, even though he said the card Large had could be used for other services.
“This is idiotic,” Large told Darren. “I have a B.C. driver’s license, I have a B.C. health card, I had my (utility) bill stating for Saddle Lake reserve, I had my Indian status card . . . If you had said ‘look, I’ll vouch for you,’ if you did that I could have gotten my band and we’ll go after them (government).”
Darren said the office will write a letter for Large explaining “why we had to refuse you service.”
Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada redirected Lakeland This Week to Indigenous Services Canada stating “your inquiry may be best suited” to that department when we asked for clarity as to what is valid and what isn’t when it comes to status cards. No response was received by press time.
Meanwhile, Service Alberta indicated it will be following up “with the registries involved to ensure the motor vehicle policy is followed,” in all locations.
