Driver-testing backlog eases during winter

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This article was published 28/01/2025 (247 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Public Insurance has eliminated a huge driver-testing backlog and is getting ready to restart its troubled technology mega-project.

MPI said a months-long backlog, which became even longer because of a 10-week strike in 2023, is now in the rear-view mirror.

“We are very pleased that Manitobans looking to take driving tests are not experiencing wait times,” said MPI spokeswoman Tara Seel on Monday.

“In most places in the province, there are same-day appointments available … I can gladly share that present testing availability is keeping pace with customer demand.”

In 2022, MPI had a six-month backlog for driver testing.

The Crown corporation was working to address the problem, but then, in 2023, the prolonged strike put them behind again.

Seel said the backlog was cleared because more staff were hired.

Harold Tabin, owner of A Confidence Driving School, said the waiting times are better, but that’s because it’s winter.

“Lots of people don’t want to take a test when there is snow on the ground,” said Tabin. “At this time of year, things are a little bit more free.”

Another reason, he said, is that MPI recently implemented a policy that requires people who fail three tests to go back to driving school before taking a fourth test.

“They have to do mandatory five hours training with a school,” he said.

“Then, if you fail the next test, you have to get five more hours of training. The driving instructors have to document the training and send it to MPI. That stops people from scheduling another test quickly,” Tabin said.

Satvir Jatana, CEO of the Crown corporation, said it is ready to begin moving forward with the troubled Project Nova.

Jatana said the project, which is designed to allow motorists and insurance brokers to renew insurance online, had been on hold for the last year.

“We took a pause to review our missteps, learnings and took the time this year, truly to understand, what is it we need for the corporation, as a whole, to ensure Manitobans have a safe and reliable services into the future,” she told members of a legislative committee last week during a meeting to discuss MPI’s annual report.

Project Nova was estimated to cost $107 million when it was unveiled in 2021. One year later, the budget had ballooned to $290 million and resulted in the firing of MPI president Eric Herbelin.

Last year, Matt Wiebe, the minister responsible for MPI, said the project had completed the second of four phases by launching a system “to manage customer and fleet/vehicle participation in the international registration plan for commercial customers who travel outside of Canada.”

“We are now starting to see the corporation get back on track,” said Wiebe. “It is a step in the right direction, but there is more work to do.”

Jatana didn’t say when the new computer system would be completely up and running.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca