Will fraudsters running fake Truck driving schools face charges if deaths were caused?
Trucking safety advocate Richard Deschamps. Photo: supplied
Fraudsters running fake Truck driving schools and creating counterfeit documents should be held responsible for any deaths they may have caused, says safety advocate Richard Deschamps.
“If they are found out to be involved in any of the fatal accidents which have occurred on our highways, will they be charged with manslaughter?” Deschamps asked in an interview with Road Warrior News.
On May 18th, Quebec’s Economic Crimes Investigation Service, in collaboration with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), arrested 6 individuals from Montreal, Laval and Brampton, Ontario in connection with the production and the use of false documents. The documents allowed foreign clients to obtain driver’s licenses, including licenses to drive heavy goods vehicles.
The suspects allowed their foreign clients to obtain a class 5 (passenger vehicle) and possibly a class 1 (heavy goods vehicle) driver’s license from the SAAQ, using falsified documents. Another scheme that was uncovered involved individuals operating unlicensed schools and delivering unauthorized training to students in Ontario and Quebec.
“I understand that the police are keeping information quiet and low-key because the investigation is still ongoing,” he notes, “but we certainly do hope to hear that these people will be held responsible for ALL of the accidents and damage they may be found to have caused, and not simply fraud for fake training and documents.”
Life-long professional Trucker Deschamps is spokesperson for the group “Highways 11 and 17 kill People” and has been lobbying for safer conditions since a friend died on Highway 17 last Christmas. The group’s petition has received more than 16,000 signatures to date.
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) corporate communications services have not yet responded to RWN’s requests for updated information.
