Manitoba Public Insurance uses picture of woman in bikini to issue a summons on Facebook

WINNIPEG – A Manitoba man says he thinks it was inappropriate for Manitoba Public Insurance to send him a court summons through Facebook.

Andrew Mykichuk says he received a Facebook message from what appeared to be a woman he didn’t know who was wearing a bikini, but when he opened it up, there was notification of a court date from MPI.

MPI spokesman Brian Smiley says the tactic worked, adding the agency only uses social media as a last resort and must get permission from the court.

The picture of the woman in the bikini was taken from a public website.

Court documents show that MPI contacted Mykichuk’s family and tried several addresses before messaging him on Facebook.

Mykichuk says he doesn’t know why MPI couldn’t find him and says he has no plan to reply to the summons.

He says the ruse was “in poor judgment. I mean, I’m not the best person to judge other people, but at the same time, this is a Crown corporation.”