Grant's Tomb

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Enough! No more new license plates!

By: Grant Hamilton

Monday, Apr. 23, 2012 at 3:55 PM | Comments: 1

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New custom Winnipeg Jets license plate.

Hey, here's an idea -- license plates should identify the vehicle.

Not the team its driver is cheering for. Not the owner's career choice. Not his or her heritage.

Frankly, the news that Manitoba might soon have *another* new license plate option makes me rage.

The more I think about it, the more I think the European way of handling license plates (they belong to the car, not to the driver) is a better, more efficient way of doing things.

If it's a given that registries have to be done privincially, however, then we should stick with that.

You've got a vehicle registered in Manitoba, you get a Manitoba license plate. That's it, that's all.

Unfortunately, the easy cash grab of custom license plates has been a government siren song.

So far, if I recall correctly, you can get the following license plates:

Basic, plain vanilla "Friendly Manitoba"
A sticker to cover "Friendly" with the language of your choice
Veterans plate with a poppy
Winnipeg Blue Bombers plate
Winnipeg Jets plate

And now I hear that a private member's bill is being introduced so that volunteer fire-fighters will also have the option of a customized plate.

This, on top of the customized "VE" plates that ham radio operators can get. Or the personalized plates that anyone can pay for. At least those ones are standard Manitoba-look plates.

The veterans one isn't too awful, either, because at least it clearly looks like a Manitoba plate.

But if the firefighters one is anything like the Bombers or the Jets plate, I'm crying foul. Too much. Enough is enough.

However ... if it's *not* enough ... if the government really wants to cash in on custom plates, then let's go whole-hog. Here are some other plates I expect to see, soon roving the roads of Manitoba, sorted by type:

Sports teams:

Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Winnipeg Jets
Brandon Wheat Kings
Brandon Bluefins
Manitoba Moose (RIP) -- yes, put "RIP" on the plate
Local rec league
Ping pong
Ping pong on the Wii
Beer pong

Arts and culture

Manitoba Theatre Centre
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Brandon Folk, Music and Art Festival
In a local band
Still buys CDs
Plays a little guitar
Plays a little guitar, but chooses not to

Hobbies / careers:

Veteran
Volunteer fire-fighter
Ham radio operator
Farmer
Lifeguard
Beekeeper
Stamp collector
Coin collector
Stamp and coin collector
I prefer philatelist, thanks

Laudable life choices:

Blood donor
Organ donor ("Don't crash, I'm not ready yet!")
Foster parent
Block parent
Regular voter
"Did my time" -- single criminal conviction, never re-offended
Divorced parent who has never missed a child-support payment
Newspaper subscriber

And frankly, I would pay good money for a plate that reads "gadfly".

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Posted by:morley bolero

April 25, 2012 at 8:36 AM

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