'This is getting crazy': Manitoba senior fighting MPI over medical suspension of driver's licence
What started as a simple mistake of addresses has led to a nearly year-long fight for an 88-year-old man over a medical licence suspension – one he fears may have more to do with his age than his health.
In September 2021, Aeurel Hebert, a resident of St. Pierre-Jolys, went to visit his daughter in the hospital. He first drove to the health centre in Hamiota, but when he arrived he was told he was supposed to go to the hospital in Hartney.
Hebert said someone told Manitoba Public Insurance of his mistake and shortly after he received a letter from the public insurer telling him his 'medical condition' may be impairing his ability to drive and his licence was being suspended.
"I'm 88 years old and my health is good," Hebert told CTV News.
He said he has been driving since he was 16 – more than 70 years and hasn't had any trouble on the road. He says his driving record from the last five years is clean.
"There’s no speeding ticket, there’s no faulty moves at all," he said.
He's been jumping through hoops with MPI for nearly a year, trying to get his licence reinstated, including getting a medical exam.
"They had the whole doctor's record which as far as I’m concerned, I got a copy of it, and it was 100 per cent."
He said in addition to this he has had to complete an eye exam, a computer test, appear before an appeal review committee and do two separate road tests.
He says he completed them all, but still no licence.
"This has been going on and on and on – January, February, March, April, May, and the last one they said it might be six months before you get your answers,” he said. "Now they're telling me I got to go for another test… I says that is ridiculous."
In total, there were 2,907 medical licence suspensions in 2020/21, and 3,141 medical suspensions in 2021/22, according to MPI statistics.
In a statement to CTV News, the Crown corporation said a driver’s licence may be suspended due to a medical condition or event which could pose a safety risk to the individual or others on the road. It said this may include episodic or persistent impairments as well as failing to provide necessary medical reports or follow-ups.
Hebert, however, fears the main reason he lost his licence is due to his age.
Michelle Porter, the director of the University of Manitoba’s Centre on Aging, said there are a lot of reasons for a licence medical suspension, but age alone is not one of them.
“Age should never be used as the sole factor to determine whether someone should drive or not - that would actually be against the law," she said. "It should all be about the person's ability to function as a driver and be able to do all the things you need to do in this complex task."
Hebert said he’s still looking for answers as to why his licence was suspended, and why it’s taken so long to get it back. But in the meanwhile, he said costs are starting to add up, estimating he has spent more than $500 on paperwork, appointments, tests and exams.
"Another one and another one and another one… I says this is getting crazy," he told CTV News.
MPI told CTV News there is no timeline on how long a licence may be suspended, but it adds people who have their licence suspended must supply the necessary medical information and complete any applicable evaluations before it will be reinstated.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.