SUPREME COURT OF CANADA CITATION: Alberta v. Hutterian ...

property and live together in religious colonies. The colonies attempt to be self-sufficient, andmembers of the community operate motor vehicles in order to fulfill their responsibilities to thecommunity. Specifically, the Wilson Colony members use motor vehicles to obtain medical serviceseach week for the 48 children and 8 diabetics on the Colony, for community firefighting byvolunteer firefighters, and in commercial activity to sustain their community.[119] In May 2003, Alberta amended the regulations to make a photograph mandatory for alldriver’s licences (Operator Licensing and Vehicle Control Amendment Regulation, Alta. Reg.137/2003). At the time, there were 453 Condition Code G licences in Alberta. Of those, 56 percent,or about 250, were held by Hutterites (2007 ABCA 160, 77 Alta. L.R. (4th) 281 per Conrad J.A.,at para. 5).[120] The purpose of the mandatory photograph was primarily to reduce identity theft.Section 3(b) of the amended regulations allows the Registrar to use facial recognition software toverify the identity of all licence applicants. The photograph that is taken at the time of issuance ofthe licence is incorporated into the province’s database. Facial recognition software compares thisphotograph to all the other photographs in the system, to help ensure that no one has more than onelicence in his or her name.[121] As noted earlier, more than 700,000 Albertans do not have a driver’s licence and aretherefore not in the province’s facial recognition database.[122] The Wilson Colony members objected to being photographed. Alberta then proposed