“There are many more” fake Trucking schools: TTSAO

November 12 trial may shed light on the problem

“There are many more of them out there,” Philip Fletcher says about the fraudulent or uncertified organizations issuing credentials to students looking for commercial vehicle credentials.

While Fletcher was satisfied to see that two fake Trucking school operators recently pled guilty to charges against them (one was given probation, while the second went to jail) and two more are in court on November 12, he considers this a small step toward solution of a much larger problem.

Since he was made president of the Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (TTSAO) in 2022, Fletcher has been pushing back against fake schools, pop-up schools, and confused schools slapping the TTSAO logo on their own graduation certificates without membership or approval. The shady schools are not teaching all of Ontario’s entry level training curriculum – some may be providing none at all. Other organizations put a bench behind the driver’s seat so they can take six or eight students out at a time for questionable “road training.”

At a recent press conference, both Premier Doug Ford and Minister Sarkaria renewed their commitment to addressing fake Trucking schools.

The fact that Ontario had, at last check, eight college inspectors for 550 private career colleges has made the proliferation of fake and substandard Trucking schools easier. Fletcher has also noted that the high-quality scanners and photocopiers available for use by anyone who wants to print a fake certificate have added to the problem.

When Ontario’s Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria announced a review of Ontario’s commercial vehicle training programs on May 16, 2024, Fletcher invited a cross-section of concerned individuals and group representatives to draft a white paper for discussion to submit to the review. The “Bill 197 White Paper Committee” includes members of the Insurance Bureau of Canada, which released a report in April, 2024 indicating that New commercial truck drivers who have not received adequate training are putting the safety of Canada’s roads and highways in jeopardy.

“Enforcement of quality standards by private career college inspectors, or actual crimes including fraud – activities which will need to involve the Ministries of College, Solicitor General and Justice – we will touch on those briefly in the current Bill 197 White Paper,” Fletcher says, “but frankly, enforcement deserves a White Paper all of its own; it’s huge.”

Specific areas for action noted in the May 16 announcement include:

“Strengthening enforcement of commercial vehicle safety: Increase Ministry of Transportation Enforcement Officers’ (TEOs) auth.ority to deliver the Ministry’s commercial vehicle enforcement program. This includes permitting TEOs to exceed posted speed limits for enforcement purposes, requiring traffic to pull over for MTO enforcement vehicles when lights and signals are flashing, and enabling TEOs to seize fraudulent or suspended driver’s licences.

Reviewing commercial driver training: The government plans to lead a comprehensive review of commercial driver training to identify gaps and areas for improvement. The review will include holding provincewide stakeholder roundtables to seek industry and public feedback on measures to improve road safety.”