Tomas Manasek says heB次元官网网址檚 thrilled that his beliefs about Alberta independence didnB次元官网网址檛 end up costing him his personalized FREE AB licence plate.

Manasek, who is 68, has lived in Calgary for the last 35 years. He escaped from a repressive regime in Communist Czechoslovakia in 1977.

Now heB次元官网网址檚 won a battle to get a licence plate initially rejected by the Alberta Registrar of Motor Vehicles. A rejection letter said the plate didnB次元官网网址檛 fit within the departmentB次元官网网址檚 guidelines.

B次元官网网址淭hey said it doesnB次元官网网址檛 fit with the guidelines of the program and that they have a right to refuse anything deemed inappropriate. I guess asking for freedom and democracy is deemed inappropriate,B次元官网网址� Manasek said.

Manasek, an Alberta Independence Party candidate in last yearB次元官网网址檚 provincial election, fought the ruling with help from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms.

B次元官网网址淭his plate is not offensive. ItB次元官网网址檚 not vulgar, so I fail to see any reasons for the rejection,B次元官网网址� he said Thursday as he held up his FREE AB licence plate under his chin at his home in southwest Calgary.

B次元官网网址淢y personal views shouldnB次元官网网址檛 make a difference. I think our democracy is strong enough to be generous. IB次元官网网址檓 entitled to my views and I am entitled to promote them.B次元官网网址�

Anger over the reelection of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with frustration over delays in completing a pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia, sparked an uptick in western alienation sentiment last fall. Some called for Alberta to separate from the rest of Canada.

James Kitchen, a lawyer with the Justice Centre, said the reversal in the plate decision shows that in a free province like Alberta, FREE AB belongs on a licence plate.

B次元官网网址淭his is a pretty innocuous expression. Free expression is on this guyB次元官网网址檚 side,B次元官网网址� he said.

Kitchen previously lost a court challenge against Manitoba Public Insurance, which had revoked the ASIMIL8 plate of an avid B次元官网网址淪tar TrekB次元官网网址� fan because of a complaint that it was offensive to Indigenous people.

The Justice Centre won the case of a Manitoba Indigenous man, who wanted his NDN CAR plate returned.

The centre is currently representing a Nova Scotia man named Lorne Grabher, whose GRABHER plate was revoked, in a case before the provinceB次元官网网址檚 Appeal Court.

Kitchen said the FREE AB case doesnB次元官网网址檛 belong with the others.

B次元官网网址淭he other three all have something about them where people could say, B次元官网网址業 could see why somebody could get upset about that,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淭his one? I mean how can you get upset about a free Alberta?B次元官网网址�

Manasek was low key about his victory.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 quite happy,B次元官网网址� he said with a smile.

B次元官网网址淚 will celebrate when Alberta becomes a republic.B次元官网网址�

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

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