More Manitobans eligible to put veterans plates on their vehicles

People currently serving with the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP and other military services are now eligible to display a veteran licence plate on their vehicle in Manitoba.

The Crown-owned Manitoba Public Insurance, the province and the Royal Canadian Legion have made regulatory amendments to allow more veterans to display a specialized licence place on their vehicle.

Previously, the definition of veteran included a three-year honourable service requirement for the Canadian Armed Forces members.

The new changes means that current and former members of the armed forces, RCMP, peace officers in special duty areas, as well as individuals who completed military training and were honourably discharged qualify as a veteran.

MPI spokeswoman Tara Seel said it will also now be up to the Royal Canadian Legion to determine who, in future, qualifies for the plates, which are free to veterans who qualify.

“What we are doing is expanding the definition of veteran,” Seel said Monday.

“We are handing this over to the Royal Canadian Legion because they’re the ones who know what a veteran is. They can be the gatekeepers for that.”

The public insurer has issued 5,680 veteran plates across the province at no cost to eligible veterans since the program began in November 2004.

Besides the RCMP, members who now qualify as veterans also includes those who participated in wartime service in the Merchant Marine and Ferry Command.

RCMP Sgt. Major Bettina Schaible, the officer responsible for maintaining RCMP history and tradition in the province, said it makes sense for RCMP members to be considered veterans because they have served in conflicts around the world for 140 years.

“The RCMP is not only Canada’s national police force, we are the only police force in the entire Commonwealth that is also a regiment,” Schaible said.

She said members of the force have served in conflicts including North West Canada in 1885, the First and Second World Wars, and Afghanistan from 2003 to 2014. RCMP members also receive support through Veterans Affairs Canada for any service-related injuries or illnesses.

“In addition to this, regular and civilian employees of the RCMP continue to regularly participate in Canada’s peacekeeping assignments throughout the world and work very closely with the United Nations in various conflict areas,” Schaible said.

Cody Klassen, the provincial services officer for the Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Command of the Royal Canadian Legion, said the changes were under consideration for some time.

Klassen said applicants for the plates are being encouraged to contribute $5 into the poppy fund to help veterans.

The City of Winnipeg allows motorists with veterans plates to park free on streets with paid parking, he said.

“The licence plates are a symbol of pride for the person’s service,” he said. “It lets people recognize they are a veteran and that they served their country.”

— Canadian Press, with files from Kevin Rollason