New licence card to feature a dinosaur image
Provincial ID cards to feature image of Albertosaurus
Alberta driver’s licences and identification cards are getting a prehistoric makeover.
The province announced Wednesday that all driver’s licences and identification cards will be redesigned to help protect against counterfeiting and identification theft — and the new cards will include an image of an Albertosaurus, a close relative of Tyrannosaurus rex, discovered by Joseph B. Tyrrell in the Red Deer River valley in 1884.
Updated card security features include clear windows, laser engraving and 3D embossing that make it harder for alteration and replication. In addition to the Albertosaurus, the driver’s licence will depict Castle Mountain and the Bow River in Banff National Park, while the ID cards will feature a wild rose, Alberta’s provincial flower.
The Albertosaurus will be featured in the bottom-right of the card, directly below the date of birth.
“We are the first jurisdiction in North America to integrate this combination of design and security to protect Albertans from ID theft and prevent fraud,” Service Alberta Minister Stephanie McLean
said in a news release Wednesday. “We are using the latest technology available to safeguard people’s personal information and prevent scams.”
The new cards cost less to manufacture and are expected to save the government more than $1 million annually. The cards will be phased in as old cards expire.
“The new security measures in the Alberta driver’s licences and identification cards will help ensure the safety and security of the public’s information,” Edmonton deputy police chief Brian Simpson said in a news release. “These security measures will help law enforcement in identifying those individuals who are fraudulently attempting to use this document for illegal purposes.”
The last driver’s licence redesign occurred in 2009.