Ontario announces standardized truck driver training after audit finds cheating
The Auditor-General found schools falsifying driver qualifications; the province will implement a new curriculum by early 2027.
What to know
- Ontario's May 2026 Auditor-General report found private truck driver training schools falsifying qualifications and skipping minimum training requirements; large trucks cause 12 per cent of fatal collisions despite being only 3 per cent of vehicles on roads.
- The province will mandate a standardized curriculum with more than 103 hours of training, to be implemented by early 2027, after consultation with industry stakeholders.
- Trucking industry groups say curriculum standardization alone won't solve the problem—the real issue is that schools aren't being inspected and aren't following existing rules.
The dispute Commenters question whether a new curriculum addresses the root cause—lack of inspection and enforcement—or merely creates the appearance of action without closing the gap until 2027. · positions read across 3 posts and comments
Curriculum standardization won't work without enforcement and inspection of training schools.
-
“I don't see how this new program will change anything. Unless I'm misunderstanding this news article, it's just a new curriculum. The same sketchy driving schools that did sketchy things will continue to exist.”
Fogest · Reddit ↗
Shelley Spence Ontario Auditor-General
Prabmeet Sarkaria Ontario Minister of TransportationMike Millian President, Private Motor Truck Council of CanadaRolf VanderZwaag CEO, Techni-Com Inc.; architect of Ontario's mandatory entry-level training standards
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
-
2
Ontario announces standardized truck driver curriculum and implementation timeline
Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria announced that Ontario will work with industry stakeholders to develop a new standardized curriculum for entry-level truck driver training. The new program will include more than 103 hours of training and is expected to be implemented by early 2027, with consideration of additional subjects such as fatigue management and rural driving.
“Having a standardized curriculum is not what our key issue is. Our key issue is people aren't following the curriculums that they're submitting.”
— Mike Millian -
3 outlets Ontario announces new curriculum for truck drivers after audit found training schools cut corners
first by CBC, 4d ago · also London Free Press, CP24
3 more headlines
- What’s in Ontario’s new truck-driver training plan? London Free Press · 4d ago
- Province introduces stricter training standards for new commercial truck drivers CP24 · 4d ago
- Ontario Developing New Training Requirements for Truck Drivers ontario.ca · 4d ago
-
Also this only comes into effect next year !! What happens between now and then? This is just lip service, not a real intervention to the risk and safety of our roads and highways.
-
-
1
Industry leaders question whether curriculum alone will address training issues
While trucking industry representatives welcomed improvements to training standards, they emphasized that oversight and enforcement are the real concerns. Mike Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, stated that the core issue is schools not following the curriculums they submit to regulators. The May audit had found that about one quarter of Ontario's 216 private truck driver training colleges had never been inspected.
-
first by The Globe and Mail, 4d ago
-
Story time. Guy shows up in sandals and gets told he needs to secure his load, and needs shoes to do it. But he can go grab a loaner pair. He does it, does his work and drives off with the shoes. He shows up again 2 months later with no shoes. Says he tossed the pair he stole because they smelled bad. We make him drive to the store and buy 2…
1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
-
I don't see how this new program will change anything. Unless I'm misunderstanding this news article, it's just a new curriculum. The same sketchy driving schools that did sketchy things will continue to exist. I am really failing to see how this changes anything. As long as we continue to allow LMIA's for truck drivers this will continue to be a…
-
-
background
Auditor-General Spence releases report on Ontario truck driver training failures — A provincial audit found widespread issues with commercial truck driver training in Ontario, including private career colleges accrediting drivers without minimum training requirements and falsifying student records. The report also noted that large trucks, representing 3 per cent of provincial vehicles, accounted for 12 per cent of fatal collisions between 2019 and 2023.
What people are saying 0 voices from 0 sites · best of 3 · verbatim
- How will Ontario address training failures in the gap between now and early 2027 when the new curriculum takes effect?
- What specific oversight and inspection mechanisms will accompany the new curriculum to prevent schools from continuing to cut corners?