Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria says the province has “zero tolerance” for bad actors in the commercial truck driver training sector following a scathing auditor general’s report that identified widespread oversight failures in Ontario’s licensing and training system.
Many of the issues identified in the report have already been addressed, including actions against several career colleges, Sarkaria told The Canadian Press.
“I know many of those operators have been shut down,” Sarkaria said. “We have zero tolerance for any of those bad actors.”
Sarkaria acknowledged some of the findings in Auditor General Shelley Spence’s special report on large commercial truck driver licensing were troubling and said the Ministry of Transportation and Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security (MCURES) have been conducting targeted enforcement against schools.
He also said Ontario Provincial Police have laid charges in several cases, although no details were provided about the schools involved or the allegations.
The minister pointed to legislative changes introduced last year requiring new drivers to wait six months after obtaining a G licence before applying for a commercial licence. Ontario has also tightened documentation requirements by requiring drivers to present valid work permits at DriveTest centres as part of the licensing process.
14 driving schools inspected
Bianca Giacoboni, press secretary for MCURES minister Nolan Quinn, said the province has inspected 14 additional career colleges offering Class A truck driver training since the drafting of the auditor general’s report.
She said the government is working with the superintendent of career colleges to ensure all remaining career colleges offering Class A truck driver training programs are visited by the end of June.
“Any failure to uphold the integrity of our postsecondary system is unacceptable,” Giacoboni said on behalf of the Ontario government. “The Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security and the Minister of Transportation will continue to strengthen oversight and crack down on bad actors to protect the integrity of our postsecondary system and keep Ontario roads safe.”
The auditor general’s report identified major gaps in Ontario’s oversight of commercial truck driver training, including falsified training records, unqualified instructors, unregistered schools and weak enforcement measures.
OTA has been issuing warnings for a while
The Ontario Trucking Association said the findings confirm concerns the industry has raised for years about fraudulent operators and inadequate enforcement in the sector.
Stephen Laskowski, president and CEO of the OTA, said the findings should not tarnish the reputation of the province’s professional truck drivers, but instead highlight systemic failures that allowed unsafe operators and fraudulent schools to flourish.
“While the Auditor General’s findings are chilling, they are, quite frankly, not surprising to those of us on the front lines,” Laskowski said. “For years, the OTA has been warning about the lawlessness growing throughout our sector.”
The OTA said some training providers were delivering only a portion of the mandatory instruction while failing to teach critical driving skills. Laskowski said “fly-by-night” training providers and fleets willing to hire improperly trained drivers are damaging the reputation of professional operators who comply with regulations and safety standards.
Criticism of low fines
The association also pointed to broader enforcement concerns beyond training schools. While the auditor found that 25% of sampled truck driving schools had never been inspected, the OTA said approximately 80% of trucking fleets remain uninspected by the Ministry of Transportation.
The OTA also highlighted what it described as rampant “paper-milling,” where training records are falsified to bypass provincial standards. The association argued low fines have contributed to a “cost of doing business” mentality among bad actors operating in the sector.
The association linked the report’s findings to ongoing concerns surrounding the Driver Inc. model, arguing that inadequate oversight has allowed unsafe fleets to employ unskilled drivers who have not been properly vetted or trained.
The OTA confirmed a meeting involving Sarkaria, the association and other industry stakeholders is scheduled for June 4 to discuss solutions and timelines for reform.
TTSAO says actions undermine trust
The Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario said the report validates concerns it has raised with the province for years regarding oversight of entry-level truck driver training programs.
Ken Adams, chairman of the board for TTSAO, said the conduct described in the report, including falsified records, shortened training hours and schools operating without valid registration, does not represent the majority of legitimate schools delivering mandatory entry-level training in Ontario.
“It is fraud,” Adams said, adding the actions undermine public trust in commercial driver training credentials earned by qualified graduates.
TTSAO called for the immediate implementation of unannounced inspections and said the current inspection framework is inadequate. The association noted the report found MCURES employs eight inspectors responsible for overseeing all 595 registered private career colleges in Ontario.
Call to strengthen instructor approval requirements
The association also urged the province to strengthen instructor approval requirements and align private career college instructor standards with the Driver Certification Program after the report found seven unqualified instructors actively teaching at investigated schools.
TTSAO further called for tougher penalties under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, saying current fines ranging from $250 to $1,000 are too low to deter fraudulent activity. The report found that several unregistered schools continued booking road tests after being investigated and penalized.
The association also urged the province to integrate Serco’s DriveTest booking system with MCURES registration data to prevent unregistered schools from booking road tests. According to the report, 17 schools that had never registered with MCURES booked more than 3,200 exam appointments between January 2024 and June 2025.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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