MPI takes high-speed detour on plan to issue no-road-test licences during strike By: Malak Abas Posted: 3:19 PM CDT Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023 Last Modified: 6:44 PM CDT Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023 Updates

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In a sudden swerve late Thursday afternoon, MPI changed lanes on its decision to issue driver’s licences to some high school students without subjecting them to a road test.

Just three hours after MPI’s board chair defended the Crown corporation’s plan to put driver-education grads in the passing lane during the ongoing strike by 1,700 of its workers, the public insurer slammed on the brakes.

“Effective immediately, Manitoba Public Insurance… is pausing its plans to waive the Class 5 road test requirement for eligible graduates of the Driver Z program,” a news release issued just before 5 p.m.

Only three hours earlier, MPI board chair Ward Keith told reporters that the corporation remained confident in its plan announced Wednesday to grant licences to graduates of the Driver Z education program without first passing a road test, in an effort to address a growing backlog while 1,700 Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union members are on strike. He said the rookie, but much-practised drivers could be on the road next week.

MPI attributed Thursday’s surprising U-turn to an “overwhelming response from the driver education community” that allowed the corporation to hire a sufficient number of outside instructors on contract to cross the picket line in order to test all Class 5 applicants.

The statement suggested the waiver plan could reappear if the strike is a lengthy one.

Regulations under The Driver and Vehicles Act state “an applicant for any class of licence must pass the knowledge examination and the practical road test required for each class of licence for which application is made.”

Keith said MPI was “in discussions” with the provincial government to bypass that regulation and make “whatever regulation changes are necessary to clearly articulate the authority of the Registrar in this case.”

“MPI is confident that the Registrar of Motor Vehicles has the authority to recognize successful completion of the Driver Z program, and its associated student evaluations, as equivalent to the driver-examination requirements currently referred to in legislation,” he told reporters at the early afternoon news conference.

Manitoba’s Registrar of Motor Vehicles is employed by MPI.

For its part, the provincial government couldn’t explain how MPI’s attempt to issue licences to drivers who did not pass a road test would not break the law. A spokesperson for Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen, who is responsible for MPI, wouldn’t say if regulatory changes were ordered to accommodate MPI’s plans, nor would they offer any legal rationale to support MPI’s position.

“The Manitoba government respects MPI’s function and its commitment to safe contingency planning that is responsive to the continuing service expectations of all Manitobans. Working with MPI, we are reviewing its plans and underlying authority on an expedited basis,” Goertzen’s spokesperson said in an email.

While MPI appeared relieved to have convinced an adequate number of driving instructors to cross the picket line, there were many who refused to buy in.

Neena Bedi, the owner of Neena’s Driving School, was one of a dozen instructors who marched with striking workers at the Bison Drive service centre Thursday morning.

She said private instructors aren’t trained to conduct road tests safely and there are ethical questions about performing both teaching and testing roles.

“Even though, as an instructor, I can go and make money, it’s not correct. It’s not right,” she said, adding that MPI’s now-aborted licensing plan left safety considerations at the side of the road.

MPI initially defended the plan by arguing that students who complete the Driver Z program are more likely to pass road tests and be safer motorists.

An MPI analyst with nearly a decade of experience told the Free Press that was misleading.

“Even though, as an instructor, I can go and make money, it’s not correct. It’s not right.”–Neena Bedi, Neena’s Driving School

“The majority, I would say, of Driver Z students performed well on the road tests, but what the policy fails to consider is the ones that didn’t,” said the analyst, who did not want to be identified.

“Without specific numbers, (there are) hundreds of drivers-ed students every year who fail the road test repeatedly. So these are drivers that are not prepared to drive safely and independently.”

Striking road-test examiners were “disturbed” by the plan’s announcement, said one with more than a decade of experience.

“Ward Keith is saying that he has no safety concerns. Well, he doesn’t have the credentials to say that,” said the examiner. “He was never a driver examiner, he’s never come and spent a week with us and did ride-alongs to see what we see.”

“Ward Keith is saying that he has no safety concerns. Well, he doesn’t have the credentials to say that.”–Examiner

He said 70 per cent of Driver Z graduates fail their first road test, including a few who did not know how to start the vehicle.

Striking staff have heard MPI is paying instructors who cross the picket line more than what MGEU members had been offered.

“There was nothing in the works before the strike,” he said. “There was no conversation, no talk of them ever getting rid of road tests for Driver Z students. So basically, they’re just doing what’s convenient for them.”

— With files from Danielle Da Silva

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca