Licence doesn’t fly

Peter Griffin considers himself a pretty experienced traveller.

He knows to bring along his passport if his travels take him out of the country, but travelling within Canada usually only requires a photo ID, like a driver’s licence.

The Kildare Capes resident’s licence, however, was not good enough to get him onboard an Air Canada plane for a domestic flight home recently.

Griffin’s problems started when he arrived at the Edmonton Airport on May 10 for his return flight, one day past his birthday.

Griffin had been to Access P.E.I. on May 1 to renew his driver’s licence and vehicle registrations. It was then he learned that he couldn’t get his new picture identification on-the-spot and that it would be mailed to him.

With his trip coming up, he was concerned how he’d be able to rent a vehicle while in Alberta.

Not to worry, though — he was assured the temporary driving permit, valid for 30 days from the date of issue, would work.

Renting a vehicle wasn’t the issue.

“‘Oh, Mr. Griffin, your ID is expired,’” he was advised when he arrived for his flight.

So he presented his temporary driving permit to Air Canada.

However, the supervisor was called over and told Griffin, “‘No, you cannot board that flight tonight; this is not valid.’”

He tried to present it in tandem with his provincial health card but was advised he’d have to get his photo identification couriered to Edmonton.

The airline’s website, under “Boarding Gate Requirements,” indicates Air Canada will accept, for domestic flights, two pieces of valid government-issued nonphoto Peter Griffin was left scrambling last month when Air Canada refused to accept his pieces of non-photo identification. His old driver’s licence had expired while he was in Edmonton, but he was in possession of a government-issued temporary driver’s licence and his health card.

identification with matching names, as long as at least one piece also includes the date of birth and gender, or one piece of

valid government-issue identification with photo showing the name, date of birth and gender.

After leaving the airport disappointed,

Griffin returned at 4:30 the next morning and purchased a WestJet ticket, using the same two pieces of identification that Air Canada personnel rejected and flew out of Edmonton on a 6 a.m. WestJet flight.

Since then, he has attempted to get Air Canada to reimburse him for his ticket, but he said they have refused and eventually ceased communicating with him on the matter.

The Journal Pioneer reached out to Air Canada Media Relations about the complaint but was informed the airline deals directly with its customers on such matters.

Griffin is also unhappy with the P.E.I. government.

“Somebody’s got to do something here to let people know that it takes at least 10 days to get your licence now in P.E.I.,” he said.

Graham Minor, provincial director of Highway Safety, says the government website does advise drivers they can renew their licence up to five months early at no additional cost.

“Everybody who has been coming through the door was getting a slip of paper informing them this was coming.”

Minor explained drivers can no longer get their new licence issued on-the-spot, because all four Atlantic provinces shifted late last year to a more secure central issuance. Drivers are advised their new licence will arrive in the mail within 30 days.

“We’re in the driver’s licence business,” Minor said, pointing out they have no control over what other agencies will require for proof of identification.

Griffin said he got an acknowledgement from Air Canada that someone should have alerted him when he boarded his flight to Edmonton that his ID was expiring. Even though his old licence was expired, Griffin believes the picture on it, taken together with the two pieces of non-photo identification, should have provided personnel with convincing proof of his identity.