Patience and Perseverence

07-Oct-2009

Whitehorse – Don Inverarity, MLA for Porter Creek South says it’s about time! Yukoners are finally going to receive a secure drivers’ license that will be acceptable proof of identity across Canada and internationally.

“For the cost of updating our drivers’ licenses, this could have been done long ago,” said Inverarity.

The Yukon government announced today that it will be issuing modern, durable and secure drivers’ licenses by next summer. The license will not replace a passport for international travel, but the new technology will help prevent against forgery.

“These are some of the important things that have been missing all along,” said Inverarity. “A Yukon drivers’ license is so easy to forge that most people cannot tell the difference between a government issued drivers’ license and a fake drivers’ license issued by a high school student.”

Inverarity has raised this issue in the Legislative Assembly repeatedly over the past two years. An advertisement in the personal columns last year opened a flood gate of horror stories from Yukoners.

“Porter Creek residents first brought this to my attention,” said Inverarity. “People were having problems renting cars, boarding planes and even being served in a licensed restaurant. Something had to be done.”

Yukon drivers’ licenses have remained essentially unchanged for more than thirty years while other jurisdictions have kept up with changes in photo id technology.

“This could have been done long ago,” Inverarity said. “As usual the Fentie government has been slow to respond to the needs of Yukoners.”

For additional information contact: Doug Tremblay – 393-6430