Drivers’ licences missing

56,000 documents, plates stolen or lost Provincial auditor blames rogue staff

Ontario’s drivers’ licensing system is rife with crime as rogue employees steal plates and permits and issue phony licences, the provincial auditor general has found.

In his annual report to the Legislature, Auditor General Jim McCarter slammed the Liberals because some Ministry of Transportation staff and private contractors allowed 56,000 documents and licence plates to be stolen and lost. “We noted instances where staff had criminal records yet no action was taken, and in 25 per cent of the new- hire files we reviewed, the required criminal check had not been done,” McCarter said in his 406- page report released yesterday. McCarter and his auditors also exposed problems at the Ontario Provincial Police, including officers crashing cruisers at an alarming rate, and outlined concerns about an air and land ambulance system that is costing more and delivering less. Blaming government sloppiness for the problems, McCarter emphasized the offences were grave this year, the first full year of the Liberals’ mandate that his office has probed. The most sensational revelations dealt with a drivers’ licensing system plagued with what appears to be organized criminal activity despite supposed heightened security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. The auditors uncovered serious deficiencies at some of the 280 privately run Ministry of Transportation licensing offices, such as a failure to safeguard licence plates, plate stickers, temporary drivers’ licences, ve-

hicle permits, trip permits and temporary disabled parking permits.

“ We noted that, over the past four years, over 49,000 high- risk stock items had been reported missing, and over 7,000 have been reported stolen,” McCarter said.

Lost or stolen stock could be used for fraudulent or illegal purposes. He noted that 75 per cent of the missing stock came from six offices, and 75 per cent of the stolen stock came from another three offices. The ministry, he said, had neither investigated the stock discrepancies nor made attempts to recover losses. McCarter said he didn’t know if organized crime syndicates such as biker gangs or the Mafia were involved, “ but it’s certainly all the more reason the ministry has to get out there.” NDP Leader Howard Hampton, a former attorney general, warned organized crime might have infiltrated the transportation ministry.

“ This is the kind of situation that would attract organized crime because a photo ID driver’s licence can get you on an airplane that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to get on,” he said. “ It can get you documents that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to get.”

Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar insisted he has now adopted a “ zero tolerance policy” regarding the privately run licensing offices.

“ We will not tolerate any discrepancies in these,” he said, adding that two operators have had their contracts revoked and one is being investigated. He also insisted that no one with a criminal record should be working in those offices.

In one case, an employee was caught last year changing photos, birthdates, names and addresses on current drivers’ licences. “A ministry analysis of the event concluded that it is easy for staff to manipulate the current system to produce such false documents,” the auditor’s report stated.

There were other troubling infractions related to drivers’ licences from within his ministry.

“Procedures for identifying potentially fraudulent drivers’ licences need to be improved,” said McCarter, whose cursory look found 14 motorists with two licences. It is also far too easy to get a legitimate driver’s licence using something as easily obtained as a Costco membership card. “Such items as membership cards for wholesale warehouse clubs and employee or student cards without photos were accepted as one of the two required identification documents,” the report stated.

Takhar said that starting this month, the ministry will be clamping down on the types of identification that are accepted.

Scofflaws also remain on the road — one driver had his licence suspended 18 times — and delays in interviews with motorists who have accumulated demerit points are frequently cancelled, then fall by the wayside.

“Driving-related criminal records for young offenders were maintained manually and were error-prone,” McCarter said, noting that of 40 young offenders who should have been given lifetime suspensions, only seven had them imposed. Nor is there any way to authenticate drivers’ licences from places such as China, India, Iran and Sri Lanka, meaning there are thousands of motorists who may be on Ontario roads without adequate training. Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory, who blasted Premier Dalton McGuinty for ducking question period to avoid the political fallout, said the scope of the problem was “ a damning indictment” of the government

In other findings, the auditor said the province’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission has no idea whether money raised by locally licensed bingos and other games are actually going to charities. According to 2003 statistics, about $ 1.6 billion was wagered province- wide by the public on charitable gaming. “Without appropriate oversight . . . it has no assurance that charitable organizations are getting the proceeds from gaming that they are entitled to and that those proceeds are being used for charitable purposes,” the report stated.

Turning to the OPP, the auditors found understaffing in some areas, poor use of manpower in others, and improper oversight for seized items.

Despite many officer accidents, no remedial driving courses were provided. In one case, an officer was involved in eight collisions in six months. On ambulance services, the report said that since municipalities took over responsibility, the price tag has almost doubled to $683 million in 2003- 04 from $352 million.