I came in to work this morning to discover my Quebec driver’s abstract waiting in the fax machine! When you don’t have a QC license any more you have to go through another service, the Service de la diffusion et liaison–corps policier (er, the police corps broadcasting and liaison service).

I thought that if the SAAQ (DMV) took three months and $65 to get me an abstract the last time and nine months to cancel my motorhome registration monthly payments and send me a reimbursement that there was no way the SDLCP (or whatever initials they go by) would be any faster. Well, they have demonstrated themselves to be the exception that makes the rule as they are apparently the only efficient government-run organization in the province! And they didn’t charge me for this abstract! Merci Mme. Langlois!

After work, I headed over to Lethbridge Vehicle and asked to be served by the gal I’d been emailing with. She confirmed that I had everything to get a full Alberta license, so she called head office to get confirmation for the trade. Well, she got a tongue lashing for not digging deeper into my file! I don’t think it’s reasonable to be expected to ask everyone who comes in “Have you ever held a Quebec driver’s license?” but I do agree that she should have questioned the fact that I only had two years of experience come up. Anyway, she apologized sincerely and made it right so there’s no sense beating a dead horse!

Confirmation was finally given by head office, so my shiny new probationary Alberta license was put through the shredder and I got another paper interim license. I’ll be glad to get my official license in a couple of weeks because carrying my passport for photo ID is stressful!

Well, all that excitement is over and with my health card now being valid, I’m an Albertan! I have to go roll on the floor and laugh now.

The lady at Lethbridge Vehicle Licensing and Registry who processed my driver’s license application personally emailed me today to apologize for not explain the transfer process to me. Apology accepted on her end.

The reason Alberta did not give me a full license is that according to the records they could get, I only have two years of driving experience. Alberta will trade a full driver’s license from another province for a full Alberta license if you have three years of verifiable driving experience on a full license. Yukon provided this information for the last two years but Quebec doesn’t reciprocate with the other provinces.

Feeling pretty bad about the whole thing, the gal at Lethbridge Vehicle tried to make it right by calling the SAAQ, the Quebec DMV. The bastards conceded to providing her with my file number there, but would not give her any further information, stating that I had to request an abstract in writing… and provide $65 for an English translation!!!!!!

When I got home, I dug through my files and found a copy I made of the abstract I bought in 2009 (I forgot about the fee, but the receipt was stapled to the copy!). I’m getting smarter in my old age! I will bring this copy to the licensing office on Tuesday and see if that is good enough. Hopefully, Alberta won’t insist on an abstract printed this month since there would not be any additional information.

Quebec’s never-ending and completely pointless bureaucracy never ceases to amaze and infuriate me. Things don’t have to be so complicated, take so much time, or cost so much money!!!!!

Let’s see… I have both my large and small birth certificates and my full driving and insurance records from back there. Hopefully, I will never have to deal with Quebec bureaucracy again.