yyznomad

Did you see the other piece of paper?

They are to be used together to form the "Valid Driver's License" in Ontario.

If a cop pulls you over in Ontario and you show the expired DL with the sticker along with the "Temporary Driver's License" piece of paper, it is accepted as the "Driver's License" by the cop.
The Temp DL also says on it "Valid with photo licence card", which refers to the expired DL with the sticker on it.

Anyway, I'm not opining whether the GA was right or wrong or whether AC was right or wrong. Just pointing out what the OP meant since not everyone is from Ontario, Canada or know what the DL situation is there.

canadiancow

Being from ON with a DL, I'm familiar. I just didn't remember the wording of the sticker, which makes it very clear that's no longer valid photo ID. It's part of a valid DL, but it's not valid photo ID. The temporary slip doesn't make it valid photo ID either. It just makes it a valid DL.

yyznomad

Sure ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

br20983

As long as it has the fly fishing endorsement.

kyanar

It seems similar to the way Australian jurisdictions do the drivers licenses too. When my license expires in Queensland, the department issues me a sheet of paper with a 14 day expiry which says I'm allowed to drive. We have the old license taken away though, so we have no form of ID unless we have a marine or firearms license (it's unlawful to damage or destroy the driver's license itself, so it has to go back to the government for destruction). The temporary paper though, even if you somehow kept the old license, isn't valid ID.

The Ontario situation would seem to indicate from that sticker wording to say "this is not a valid driver's license, but it is a valid photo. If the holder has a Temporary Driver's License, this photo and that license make a valid driver's license" - it doesn't say anywhere that it makes for valid ID.

Often1

OP's situation is not unique. It is the nature of a multi-tiered system such as exists in Canada, the US, and Australia. One has to obey provincial (state) law and requirements when performing those functions, e.g. driving and federal law, e.g. boarding an aircraft.

eigenvector

I've had an APEC Business Travel Card refused as ID for domestic travel. Agent said "it doesn't state what agency issued it". This is not evidently an actual requirement based on the Transport Canada website, but hey, she works at the airport.

flyquiet

Logical, illogical, lawful, overreaching, foreseeable, unforeseeable - many hairs have already been split here.
Just seems to me that the whole DL renewal interim document system is based on the fact that the photo part remains a valid photo of the named individual.
It also seems to me that face-matches-name is the part the airline needs to know, not whether they're currently licensed to operate a motor vehicle.
In addition, the person has already produced some form of ID to get airside of security.
Clearly, it is obvious that the ID should be scrutinized to the Nth degree at the gate.
(FQ Jr. boarded an aircraft with an expired NEXUS earlier in the month, whether they noticed and used common sense, or did not use YYC level of scrutiny, I don't know.)

canadiancow

The only time a photo ID is required by CATSA is when you're in the NEXUS lane.

flyquiet

Interesting. Since I'm always in the NEXUS late ex-Canada, it never occurred to me that the "civilians" don't show ID to go through security here. (And ex-US, I've noticed the TSA scrutinizes the photo ID, so AC gate scrutiny is redundant.)

LockheedElectra

Thanks for all the humour, particularly the happy face license face, that was worth striating the thread for.

Yeah, what @flyquiet says is my feeling as well; the intent is to prove you are who you say you are. Nevertheless, based on everything here, and what I looked up myself, I will need to eat crow here, as it appears that the licence I tried to use is no longer valid Government of Canada ID (even though I had got on several other flights using it). To the Ontario Government however, it is certainly valid government ID, at least for driving. To add another wrinkle to the story, being the Lebowski Little Urban Achiever that I am, I always get this stuff done early, so if I removed the sticker, the license would not appear to be 'expired'. Could I have gone back in line to another GA, and averted my gaze away from the super astute GA? Probably. You don't have a choice when you renew your license, as they always put the sticker on so you can't run around with two licenses after the new one arrives. In any case, maybe the Ontario Government should add that it is no longer valid Airline ID lol, as I'm sure someone will eventually get screwed by this.

shadowspar

I don't understand the confusion at all, but maybe that's because I'm old & from Ontario. The GA presumably isn't.

Before the modern card-type licenses were introduced, Ontario driver's licenses used to come in a two-piece form: a photo card, plus a second card with all your licensing information. The way they renew your license is a vestige of this.

The "valid photo card only" sticker means that your photo identification is still valid, but the licensing info on the card isn't -- it's now been superseded by the information on the printed temp license slip, including the expiry date. Together the two constitute a valid license and a valid photo id. The OP should have been allowed to board the flight.

Interestingly enough, this page, linked from AC's website, says you don't necessarily need photo ID to travel domestically: two pieces of gov't issued should also be accepted, so long as at least one has your name, date of birth, and gender. Doing that in practise might not be so straightforward, though; I think every AC GA I've encountered has always asked for "photo ID". https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/n...dcmnts-en.aspx

shadowspar

Nah, the AC gate agent was in the wrong, and you were right. Hilariously enough, and in contrast to Air Canada, Westjet and Swoop specifically call out the photo card / paper slip combination as being acceptable:

yyznomad

Yep. This was covered in the CBC AC pax denied boarding, accepted by WS with a Fishing License thread...

LockheedElectra

Yeah next time my DL is up for renewal, apparently I'm gonna have to buy a gun or a fishing rod because it really shows who I am. Maybe I'll retire by then and need both of them.