Some B.C. residents with Alberta licence plates have become creative to avoid confrontation with those who might assume they are disregarding provincial travel restrictions.
Wendy McLellan was out for a walk in her Victoria neighbourhood when she noticed a car with an Alberta plate. Beneath the distinctive tag for 鈥淲ild Rose Country鈥� was a homemade sign reading, 鈥淗ello, I am a B.C. resident.鈥� McLellan said the sign made her feel a little sad. 鈥淲hy are humans so judgmental?鈥� she posted on Facebook.
Homemade signs and bumper stickers have been seen on vehicles with Alberta licence plates since B.C. health officials first advised people not to travel outside their community early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 23, B.C. introduced its strictest travel orders yet, prohibiting people from travelling between three zones, including a combined zone for 91原创 Coastal Health and the Fraser Valley, another for the Northern and Interior health regions and a third for 91原创 Island. Anyone travelling for non-essential reasons could face a $575 fine.
The travel restrictions do not prohibit interprovincial travel, which means there are no penalties for Albertans or any out-of-province travellers who come to B.C. unless they cross regional boundaries.
Peter Milobar, B.C. Liberal MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson, said he鈥檚 heard from frustrated constituents who feel the province鈥檚 travel restrictions are tougher on British Columbians than interprovincial travellers. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 understand why a B.C. resident is subjected to one set of rules and an Alberta resident is subjected to another set of rules,鈥� he said.
That disparity may have contributed to a backlash against those with Alberta licence plates, despite evidence from B.C. border towns that out-of-province tourism has all but dried up.
But there are several reasons why a B.C. resident might have an Alberta licence plate.
In a statement, ICBC said a vehicle that spends 30 days or more in B.C. needs to be registered in this province, meaning new residents may still be driving under their old plates. There are also some exceptions, including for students who may be temporarily residing in B.C. or members of the military.
Golden resident Jessica Grey had a negative experience last May when her mother-in-law let her use her Alberta-registered car to do some grocery shopping. She returned to the vehicle to find a sticky note that read 鈥済o home鈥� stuck to the window.
鈥淚t really threw me off at the time,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think people would do that.鈥� Grey was hesitant to drive the car again and parked it for a time.
鈥淚n a border town like this, there are a lot of people who work in Alberta but are based in B.C. If we react that way to Albertans, how do we expect to be treated when we go to Alberta?鈥� she said.
Grey said Golden has 鈥渃almed down quite a bit鈥� since the early days of the pandemic, but she hopes people will think before lashing out.
Sheila Brand鈥檚 son is moving back to B.C. after finishing his medical residency in Saskatchewan. He visited for two months this year and was worried his car might be vandalized. He鈥檚 planning to switch the registration to B.C. as soon as possible.
鈥淚 think we need to take a step back and think before we jump to conclusions,鈥� she said.
Homemade bumper stickers might encourage some people to think twice. Lisa MacInnis said she noticed a vehicle in a parking lot in West Kelowna that has Alberta plates and a bumper sticking reading 鈥淧roud to be Living and Working in B.C.鈥�
鈥淚t is sad that is has come to that,鈥� she said.