Lethbridge-West MLA Shannon Phillips and local senior express concern over driver medical exam

Alberta NDP Finance Critic, Shannon Phillips along with a Lethbridge senior, expressed their concerns over the province cutting funding for seniors’ medical exams for driver’s licenses. Phillips says in 2020, the UCP made the decision to no longer pay Alberta Health to do the seniors drivers exam, it meant seniors had to pay out of pocket for the exam.

“Under our government, seniors were not at saddled with those extra costs for their driver medical, now they are. That was a specific decision that was made in 2020 by this government, and it’s completely unnecessary because on the other side, they cut corporate taxes for the very very wealthiest corporations. Those corporations took those billions of dollars elsewhere, didn’t create jobs with that money and left us to make up a whole bunch new taxes, fees and other cutbacks, and this is just one example of that,” said Shannon Phillips, MLA for Lethbridge-West.

Lethbridge Senior Tom Walton says the Kenney government is just gouging the elderly and that most of their savings are being eaten up.

“We have been able to put a little bit of money aside to enjoy our retirement years, but many seniors are not that so positioned. However, out little nest egg is dwindling quickly due to this constant parade of cost increases and add on payments for services. Watching our savings melt away because of cruel cuts by the current government, we can only imagine the severe stress and anxiety endured by those who aren’t fortunate as we are. This fee for a drivers license renewal exam is just one cost increase seniors must face,” said Todd Walton, Lethbridge Senior.

Walton also says he isn’t against getting the exam, but in his opinion, the fee for the test is just another example of how the UCP isn’t helping out our seniors.