WINNIPEG

George Johannesen can walk, talk, and the last time he checked, he had a pulse.

But according to Manitoba Public Insurance, the 59-year-old died sometime in October.

"I can't figure it out," he said.

The paperwork he received from MPI last week was addressed to "The Estate of George Johannesen" and informed him his drivers' license had been cancelled the previous month. Since then, he's apparently been driving without a valid license.

For a dead guy, that wouldn't pose a problem. But Johannesen is still very much alive.

His enhanced drivers' license also allowed him to enter the U.S. He won't be able to make it down there now -- he was thinking he might visit during the holidays.

Now he's worried the mix-up could mean the cancellation of his pension and other government benefits.

"I don't understand how this could have happened," he said. "For me to be declared dead, someone would have to present a death certificate. For someone to get that, I guess I must have died sometime in October."

An MPI spokesperson said the mixup is unrelated to the public auto insurer, but for confidentiality reasons could not give specifics as to what is at the root of the problem.

Johannesen said he spent several hours this week at his insurance broker trying to get the matter figured out. They were just as baffled as he was.

His latest pension cheques arrived as expected, but he said he's concerned the next ones might not.

"I don't know what could happen now," he said.

marc.zienkiewicz@sunmedia.ca