‘It means freedom of expression, thats what MAGAUSA means to me’: Man disputes with SGI over a vanity license plate – CTV News

Rod Kletchko is proud of the license plate on his car that reads MAGAUSA.

"It could mean a little cup of water, it could mean the East Indian God of strength and tranquility," he said.

The wording resembles, Make America Great Again, U.S.A, from President Donald Trumps campaign slogan. Kletchko admits he is a Trump supporter and got the license plate to annoy his friend who isn't a supporter.

For some reason, she called me 'MAGA' so I thought maybe Ill see if I could get that as a license plate, you know just a little joke on her, Kletchko said.

Kletchko got the license plate from Saskatchewan Government Insurance in May. Last week, the Crown corporation told Kletchko he had to relinquish the plate. Kletchko disagrees with SGI's decision because of what the plate means to him.

"To me it means freedom of expression, thats what MAGAUSA means to me, he said. I have the right to express myself, I have the right to free speech and I think free speech is lacking in today's society."

SGI said it made a mistake by issuing the license plate to Kletchco. The Crown corporation also said license plates are the Crown's property and it's in its policy that they are not to be used to send political messages.

"We really do have to look at our process so that we are scrutinizing these points a little bit more, said J.P. Cullens with SGI. Its a service that people like, it's a service that we want to continue to offer, at the end of the day no body needs a personalized license plate."

Kletchko said he's originally wanted the plate to read MAGA or MAGA1 but said he was told by SGI those plates were already in use. SGI said it has no plans to go after the motorists with those plates.

"MAGA at the time the application was made, might have had a different meaning for that customer. Cullens said. Its really clear to us based on the information provided that this did have as association to a political connotation."

Since receiving the call, Kletchko now has less than a month to turn in the plate or SGI could cancel his registration. SGI said it told Kletchco it would reimburse him the cost of the plate because it shouldn't have been issued in the first place. The crown corporation will also issue him a new plate with no charge.

"Im going to miss it." Kletchko said.

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'It means freedom of expression, thats what MAGAUSA means to me': Man disputes with SGI over a vanity license plate - CTV News