African Canadian woman fed up with Manitoba Public Insurance after yet another 'dehumanizing' photo glitch

An African Canadian woman attempting to get a new Manitoba driver's licence photo says she's had enough after being told for a third time her skin tone reads as "unnatural" by an Autopac computer system.

Last month, Winnipegger Tolu Ilelaboye went to two different Autopac locations over the course of three days to get her licence renewed, and was unable.

"At that point, an Autopac person had told me that my skin wasn't registering a natural colour. So I basically couldn't get a licence," she told CBC Manitoba's Up to Speed host Faith Fundal on Friday.

This Wednesday, Ilelaboye said the same thing happened again.

Not only is she unable to get a driver's licence, but it's dehumanizing, she said, to be told repeatedly her skin colour isn't natural.

"It really is dehumanizing in a lot of ways. It's reminding me of just some of the systems that are in place and processes that are in place that continue to obstruct people's ability to access all the same resources as other people," Illelaboye said.

The process is so exhausting that she refuses to have her photo taken again by an Autopac agent.

"I fundamentally will not come get another photo because that's personally really damaging," she said.

'Top priority' for MPI

Satvir Jatana, the vice-president and chief customer officer with Manitoba Public Insurance, offered her apologies to Ilelaboye.

"On behalf of MPI, I am truly sorry that this has happened. You know, we serve all Manitobans and we want our services to be respectful, easy and accessible," she said on Up to Speed on Friday.

"We know that in this case for Tolu, we fell short and we are doing everything to make it right."

Jatana says MPI will work to ensure Ilelaboye has an updated driver's licence with an older photo.

LISTEN | Tolu Illelaboye speaks with Faith Fundal:

The MPI executive clarified the problem wasn't with Ilelaboye's skin tone, but rather the overall colour of the photo, which wasn't properly conveyed to her.

On top of getting an up-to-date driver's licence without having to take a new photo, Ilelaboye wants to see MPI's system revamped and staff trained to troubleshoot so clients aren't being told their skin tone is unnatural.

"All of these things can be changed so that other people don't have to go through this," she said.

Jatana says MPI is taking Ilelaboye's concerns seriously and have had a number of conversations over the last 24 hours to resolve the issue with an external party.

"We want to resolve this as soon as possible and this is a top priority for us," she said.