Photo courtesy of Ross Lavigne

By Scott Roblin

Registry Options

New registry options aimed at reducing in-person wait times

May 8, 2020 | 5:27 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Lineups at Medicine Hat registry offices remain long during this pandemic, but relief could be on the way thanks to news from the province this week.

Access to registry services have been expanded in a number of categories to include online and phone options with the goal of limiting the number of in-person interactions at offices.

Minister of Service Alberta Nate Glubish told CHAT News that waiting in a line is not possible these days for many Albertans.

“Some folks might not be in a position where they can or feel safe going out in public to a registry,” said Glubish. “So, we’ve had to take a number of steps to make sure that those services are still available wherever possible to Albertans through alternative means.”

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Services that are being made remotely include vehicle registration renewals, driver’s licence replacements and renewals, replacement expiry date stickers, driver abstracts, and specialty plate orders.

Though the scope of registries is changing because of the pandemic, Glubish isn’t expecting any increased burden to be placed on the system with the new options.

“The volume of the services required is going to remain relatively predictable based on the population and based on the usual rules of thumb for the different types of services that we see,” said Glubish. “It’s the same people delivering the services, just delivering them a different way. So, at this time I don’t anticipate a capacity issue.”

Currently, the Association of Alberta Registry Agents does not have data regarding delivery services for customers. But, they do say their board is currently working to develop an internal tracking system.

CHAT News reached out to local registry offices for comment, however were told that all interviews were to be done at the provincial level.

One local manager did say there is a perception that lineups look longer than usual in Medicine Hat, but added that’s likely due to physical distancing measures that limit just a handful of people in the offices at one time.

Waits for customers on Friday varied from lineups of six or seven people outside in the morning at The License Place in Crescent Heights to waits of less than 10 minutes in the afternoon.

Glubish did not say if the online and phone options implemented will continue once the pandemic quiets down, though he said it’s something they’ve discussed even before the virus.

“That work continues and will continue long beyond the pandemic, and I would say stay tuned for some more announcements on that in the months to come,” he said. “As it relates specifically to some of these other options with phone and email, we’ll continue to monitor to see how that goes.”

If you need to apply for a new driver’s license or require vital documents such as birth and death certificates, those will still need to be completed in-person.