MPI gives Manitoba drivers wiggle room on renewals after postal strike

Licences and registrations for Manitoba drivers that were set to expire between mid-November and the end of January have been extended because of the effects of the Canada Post strike, the province's public insurer says.

Manitoba Public Insurance says customers won't receive their annual statements for their driver's licence, vehicle registration and insurance "until mail service stabilizes."

Because of that, people whose licences, vehicle registration and insurance were set to expire on or after Nov. 15 but before Feb. 1 will get extensions to Feb. 28, an MPI spokesperson said Thursday.

The extension is intended to protect customers from the possibility of unknowingly driving with an expired licence or insurance, according to the spokesperson, but MPI still encourages drivers to keep track of their renewal dates and plan to make their payments on time.

Those payments are due four months after the licence holder's birthday.

Canada Post workers returned to work on Dec. 17, following a month-long strike, but the job action created a backlog of a "couple million" parcels during the busy holiday shipping season, according to the postal service.

The company warned last month it will "take some time" to clear the packages and letters that were stuck for weeks.