Province looking at possible trucking licence ‘loopholes’ for non-Canadians, Brampton minister says

A Brampton MPP says he’s looking at ways to plug potential “loopholes” that could be allowing non-Canadians to drive commercial trucks without the proper permits and crack down on fraudsters in Ontario.

Ontario’s Minister of Transportation minister and Brampton South MPP Prabmeet Sarkaria said on Tuesday he’s exploring legislation that could cut down on possible cases of fraud in the province’s commercial vehicle licensing system and instances of visitors to Canada driving trucks without the proper permits.

An investigation by the CBC earlier this year found over a dozen commercial driving instructors were willing to help clients break provincial licensing rules, and found cases of driving schools using forged documents to show the student completed the required driving experience and coursework.

Sarkaria was asked by reporters about what the province is doing to ensure visitors to Canada aren’t driving commercial trucks without the proper permits, and says that any alleged cases of fraud “will be investigated fully.”

“Visitors in this province would be illegal to drive without a work permit, so absolutely, if there’s any loopholes there we’ll definitely be fixing those,” Sarkaria said.

Ontario has two separate licensing streams for visitors from outside of Canada –  one for visitors staying less than three months and one for those staying longer. Visitors staying under three months can use a valid driver’s licence from your own province, state or country, while those staying longer need an International Driver’s Permit.

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He said the province will “come down very hard” on anyone found breaking the rules and could move forward on legislation “that would close that gap or restrict that from happening further in the province.”

Sarkaria made the comments while alongside Premier Doug Ford and Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown on Tuesday to announce a nearly $30 million in funding to allow for nearly 13,000 new homes.

“You have to be qualified,” Ford said. “It needs to be legal, there’s no lying on applications, or we need to deal with it.”