Mahsi, Mr. Speaker. I would like to make a short statement today to call the members' attention to a change of procedure in the Department of Transportation's Motor Vehicle Division, which I believe the members and most of their constituents should take note.

As of October 1996, the Motor Vehicles Division has stopped sending reminder letters to people advising them that their vehicle registration or driver's license is about to expire. The reminder letter was a small service the Department began in 1989 when it changed to the staggered renewal of vehicle registrations. The service was intended to give people a timely reminder, so they would not find themselves in the awkward position of having let their driver's license or vehicle registration expire.

The Motor Vehicles Division sent out about 50,000 letters annually at a cost of $25,000. In any month, the post office returned a quarter to half of these letters as undeliverable, mainly because people move without notifying the Motor Vehicles Division of their change in address. The number of returned letters made the Department question how important the service actually was. In our tight financial circumstances, by cancelling the reminder letters, the Department of Transportation has achieved a small saving with little or no inconvenience to the public.

So, I would like to advise the members and their constituents, that there will be no letter in the mail this year when their vehicle registration is due for renewal. People should check the expiry dates on their motor vehicle documents and remind themselves to renew them before they lapse. Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker.