A year-long odyssey to obtain a marriage certificate from the Manitoba Vital Statistics Branch has left a Winnipeg woman questioning whether her nuptials were ever legally registered.

Brandy Kowal married her partner in September 2020, on their 10-year anniversary. However, she didn’t request a marriage certificate until April 2022, when she needed the document for financial purposes.

She was told the registration of her marriage was “on hold” for an unspecified reason. Despite repeated attempts, she hasn’t been able to get a straight answer from Vital Statistics staff.

“We got married because we made a commitment to each other and it’s something that was really important to us to do on our 10-year anniversary,” Kowal said Friday. “And now to be questioning that and not having anybody to help get the answers is really stressful.”

Kowal suspects there may have been a mistake on the paperwork but she can’t be sure.

“It’s extremely frustrating because it’s very possible that I made a mistake or the people who sent in the paperwork made a mistake,” Kowal said. “But we need that information and that feedback from the Vital Stats office.

“I feel like something’s gone wrong somewhere and it’s taking this long to get through to anybody that this has to be some kind of systemic issue. I don’t know what else to do.”

The Manitoba government has acknowledged a significant backlog for life event registrations and applications at Vital Statistics, spanning months. Many contain errors or omissions that must be corrected before the agency can process the requests.

In late January, Vital Statistics reported more than 8,000 applications for birth, death and marriage certificates requiring corrections. The number of registrations needing corrections couldn’t be provided as a tracking system was still being developed.

Over the past 12 months, Kowal said she has been in stuck in a loop. On at least eight occasions, she has tried to get help from Vital Statistics by phone or email.

Kowal said she has waited endlessly on hold, and when she has gotten through to someone, she’s told to send an email or she’d be called back. To date, emails have gone unanswered and promised calls haven’t happened, she said.

As of Friday, the automated recording at Vital Statistics continued to advise people not to visit the building in person, owing to COVID-19 pandemic concerns and construction.

Kowal, a South Osborne resident, eventually reached out to her local MLA’s office for help and was put in touch with the Consumer Protection and Government Services Department in late February, which promised to follow up.

“I still haven’t heard from them,” she said.

In response to a request for comment from Consumer Protection and Government Services Minister James Teitsma, an unattributable government spokesperson sent a statement Friday.

“Vital Statistics is making every effort to address this backlog, including personally reaching out to clients,” the spokesperson said.

Updates to online application services are coming to improve the client experience and reduce the likelihood of errors, according to the spokesperson. Recruitment and training of new and existing staff is also ongoing.

Vital Statistics is also open for unscheduled, walk-in appointments weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the spokesperson confirmed.

“The VSB will update the automated message to reflect more current information about operations, and apologizes for any inconvenience people have experienced in waiting for service.”

Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union president Kyle Ross said the struggles described by people seeking documents from Vital Statistics are unacceptable.

“It’s very frustrating that this government continues to fail to make the needed investments at Vital Statistics,” Ross said. “Manitobans deserve better, and our members that work at Vital Statistics should be valued for the important work they do.”

The government budgeted $3.3 million for Vital Statistics in 2023-24, up $137,000 from the past fiscal year. The department is funded for 40 full-time equivalent positions, which is static from 2022-23.

Fort Rouge MLA and NDP Leader Wab Kinew said such delays are inexcusable given the number of cases MLAs bring forward on behalf of residents.

Chronic vacancies in the department have set the agency back, Kinew said, adding his party would invest in core services, should it form government in the next general election.

“The PCs always have a recruitment problem in areas where they’ve been keeping jobs empty,” Kinew said. “Our approach would be to signal to the existing civil servants who are on the job that they’re valued and respected.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca