Some people wear their heart on their sleeve, as the saying goes, but Daniel D’Aloisio wears his on his car.
The personalized licence plate reads VI6SIX.
It is inscrutable to many, but is loaded with layers of meaning.
UPDATE: Outrage grows over Ontario government pulling of ‘offensive’ licence plate
“My relationship with my father was very short. He passed away when I was 19 years old due to cancer,” said D’Aloisio.
The pair shared a passion for the Habs.
D’Aloisio explained there were only so many characters, so VI is short for vie, French for “life”.
“‘6’ is from ’76, I was two years old and Montreal won their cup, and ‘six’ being six Stanley Cups my dad and I celebrated together in his short life with me,”
Their favourite player of all time, Mario Lemieux, wore 66.
He survived cancer just a few years after D’Aloisio’s dad died.
“The ‘VI’ life, ’66’ Mario’s sweater number,” he said.
But someone complained.
If you read VI as the Roman numeral for six, the plate becomes 666.
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In the New Testament, that’s the “number of the beast” and some see it as representing Satan.
D’Aloisio has been told to turn the plate in, even though he wrote to the government, explaining the meaning behind the plate.
“I just feel like I am being strong-armed by the ministry,” he said.
D’Aloisio also pointed out he has had the plate for 15 years and never had a problem.
A Ministry of Government and Consumer Services spokesperson confirmed it takes just one complaint to launch a review of a vanity plate.
Shortly after Global News made inquires to the ministry, a representative called D’Aloisio at his office.
He said they offered to work with him on a new configuration, and that they would get it printed up and sent out right away.
“Which is great. That’s very nice of them but I came up with this very specifically for those reasons of my own,” he responded.
D’Aloisio said he should get a reprieve.
He added that he was hoping one day, his son would have the plate on his car.
“I’d like to at least keep the plate and take it off the car as a keepsake.”
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