So Alberta is no longer Wild Rose Country?
Odd; that slogan has seemingly been workable and popular for decades …
Could it be that, as Wild Rose MLA Rob Anderson suggests, dropping the popular slogan from our new licence plates is no more than a stab at the official opposition in this province?
Could our provincial government be so insecure as to believe that anyone seeing the slogan on our licence plates as some form of endorsement of their competition?
Now, according to the new licence plates that will adorn our vehicles in future, we’re just plain old Alberta. Unlike every other province, we apparently no longer need a catchy slogan. Can it really be that important to have the Province’s website address replace our Wild Rose Country slogan?
Yes, it’s been 30 years since this province had a new licence plate, but for a provincial government that’s been around, well, forever, that shouldn’t seem like a long time.
We also hope adopting a new licence plate isn’t just a cash grab scheme. There will be a $5 cost to cover the cost of producing them, but we’ll also all have to buy new plates when old ones expire, instead of just replacing a date sticker.
Then there’s the artwork. Even those who live in the mountains like we do must wonder at how prominent mountains are in the new designs – much like B.C. or Colorado. Mountain landscape dominates all three potential plates Albertans are being asked to choose between.
Yes, there is a hint of grass/agricultural land at the bottom of each, but mountains are what one notices. And let’s face it, in Alberta, mountainous terrain is in the minority. Mountains don’t describe the prairie/grassland of the southern part of the province, or the mighty rivers that run through it, or the lake country which is a feature of the northern region.
Just like Province-funded Travel Alberta rarely strays from promoting mountains in its advertising, it seems Transportation is doing the same.
It seems to us that, if a new licence plate is truly needed at this time, it would have been preferable to open a design competition to all Albertans. We also wonder why, among the information from the government related to the new plates, there was no related cost of the re-design – no doubt because it cost just a few bucks.
The Province, of course, by way of Service Alberta Minister Doug Griffiths, has assured us that creating new licence plates is not a means of making a political statement, but a move toward greater safety. The new plates will feature a new reflective coating to make them easier to read in low light conditions and with infrared technology (radar?).
We assume then, that in the spirit of making our roadways safer with new, technologically advanced plates, the Province will also direct police forces to crack down on licence plate covers designed to foil photo radar, heavily tinted car windows and the dark headlight and signal light covers favoured by those who prefer the blackout look on their vehicle.
Then again, if, at some point the Alberta Party managed to become the opposition, would we require a new licence plate once again?
It is comforting to know, though, that everything is going so well in our province that the governing Conservatives have time of their hands to make licence plate design a priority.
