Ontario Should Revise Discriminatory Policy Against Refugee Drivers

Allow experienced drivers from war-torn countries to skip driving-test waiting period similar to other newcomers in Ontario. Toronto, ON - Ontario's Ministry of Transportation should revise its policy and allow experienced drivers from war-torn countries to skip the one-year waiting period before their final driving tests - an exemption available to other newcomers in Ontario as well as refugees in other provinces, the International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law (IHRP) said today. Under the current policy, the Government of Ontario is discriminating against refugees from Syria and other conflict zones by effectively excluding them from an exemption to the one-year waiting period between a novice driver's licence ("G2") and a full graduated licence ("G") for experienced drivers. " This week marks the second anniversary of the first planeload of Syrian refugees arriving on Canadian soil, and Ontario's government continues to prevent them from getting driving jobs to support themselves and their families because of this discriminatory policy," said Samer Muscati, director of the IHRP. "The provincial government needs to step up and implement policies similar to other provinces to allow experienced refugee drivers the ability to immediately test for a full licence." The IHRP is providing support to litigator Hassan Ahmad who has brought a case before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario on behalf of Shyesh Al-Turki, a Syrian refugee who worked as a truck driver before resettling to Canada with his wife and children in 2016.