Driving tests are not mandatory in Ontario, but successful completion has benefits for drivers. (Archive photo)
I've done that thousands of times, he confides to the hidden camera. The cost: $385.
Another teacher says the beginner course — which includes 40 hours of lessons and of homework — is a waste of time.
He also suggests that the journalist come to the school to sign the documents. We're breaking the rules a bit, he admits. His school is one of 844 establishments approved by the ministry to offer the beginner's course.
The broadcast Marketplacedoes not identify the schools and teachers in question since the problem is systemic.
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The Office of the Auditor General of Ontario determined in 2023 that driving schools were violating the rules concerning certificates for beginner courses. As in another report from 2007, the office called on the Department of Transportation to do more to crack down on offending schools.
Between the months of May and October 2023, the Office of the Auditor General undertook an exercise similar to that of Marketplaceand presented himself anonymously to 14 driving schools in the province.
The bureau found that 11 schools allowed the mystery shopper to shorten or even abandon their practical training and still issued them a driving course certificate, the report reads. report.
Transport Minister Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria said the government has a zero tolerance policy and that it will crack down on offending schools.
Teilor Stone has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining Thesaxon , Teilor Stone worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my teilor@nizhtimes.com 1-800-268-7116