While ordinary Albertans may or may not agree that it's time for the province to bring in new licence plates, the fact that the plan has created a political fight between the PC and the Wildrose parties should surprise no one.
On July 8 the province announced that it was introducing new licence plates starting in the spring of 2015 – at a cost of about $15 million.
The new plates will no longer carry the ‘Wild Rose County' slogan and will have the main colours of blue and orange.
The fact the old slogan just happens to be the name of the official opposition, albeit spelled Wild Rose not Wildrose, coupled with the fact the new plate colours are the PC colours has nothing whatsoever to do with politics, says Minister of Service Alberta Doug Griffiths.
“Our current licence plate is more than 30 years old and lacks features to help make our roads and communities safer,” said Griffiths. “This new plate will make it easier to spot vehicles that are unregistered, uninsured, or stolen.”
Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Wildrose MLA Bruce Rowe, who is his party's Service Alberta critic, says there's no question in his mind that the colouring and the removal of the ‘Wild Rose County' slogan are politically motivated.
“I think taking ‘Wild Rose County' off is purely political and there is no question about that,” said Rowe. “Having it blue and orange, the PC colours, and taking ‘Wild Rose' off it, I think the public is going to see the political point of it.”
Rowe agrees that having new plates with reflective lettering is a good and needed change for the safety of Alberta motorists.
Albertans are being given a chance to vote online for one of the three proposed plate styles until Aug. 19. Unfortunately, none of the three choices offered up by the government include anything other than the quasi-slogan of ‘alberta.com'.
With the next provincial election still two years away, the licence plate controversy between the PCs and the Wildrose will probably be long forgotten by the time voters head to the polls.
Yet isn't it too bad the government and the official opposition haven't been able to put aside their differences and agree on a new slogan?
Alberta licence plates are seen across Canada and throughout the United States, representing a widespread, permanent and entirely free advertisement opportunity for this great province. Having no slogan is a missed opportunity, plain and simple.
Hey, here's a slogan the PCs and Wildrose might just agree on: ‘My way or the highway.'
