If your son or daughter is taking a driving test next summer, the examiner will be an Alberta government employee.
Transportation Minister Brian Mason announced Tuesday that the government is ending the driving examination system that was privatized in 1993 by then-Premier Ralph Klein.
As of March 1, 2019, all driver exams will be conducted by government employees.
“Starting this fall, the government will begin recruiting, hiring and training driver examiners to conduct road tests for all classes of drivers licenses,” Mason told a news conference in Edmonton.
Alberta is the only province in Canada with a completely privatized road test framework.
The privatized system has been riddled with problems, Mason said.
Examiners can charge what they want, and access to driving tests in rural areas is limited. Mason said there have been complaints about harassment and corruption.
On average, Alberta Transportation receives seven complaints about driver examinations every weekday.
For the new system coming in next March, the government plans to set up an online system for people to book time for their tests.
Fees will be standard across the province. The new employees will have to follow the government’s code of conduct, Mason said.
More to come