
November 27, 2020 · 0 Comments
By Sam Odrowski
The Town of Orangeville unanimously supported a motion brought forward by Coun. Lisa Post to write a letter requesting that the Province prohibits cross-regional access to road tests.
The motion was brought forward after Coun. Post heard complaints from Orangeville Drive Test examiners, who told her 90 per cent of their tests are being conducted with individuals from now locked down areas.
“At our drive test location, on Friday for example, every single person that was having a drive test conducted by one particular examiner came from a postal code located in one of the now lockdown areas, with the exception of one, who came from an area that’s now just entered the red zone,” said Coun. Post
“According to the examiner, this is not an anomaly, this is a typical day at our Drive Test Centre. It was recognized that providing cross-regional access under normal circumstances is a necessity. However, in these times it is socially irresponsible.”
Mayor Sandi Brown said a different Drive Test examiner reached out to him and expressed a great deal of concern as well, considering 170- 200 tests are conducted daily.
“I remember how excited I was when I was 16 to get my licenses, but I hardly think it’s an essential requirement that we continue this, at least for the next couple of months until things start to trend down,” he said.
“We’ve been really quite good in keeping the COVID at bay in our area, and nobody’s interested in having it visit us as it has in the GTA, so I’m fully supportive of Coun. Post on this issue.”
Meanwhile, Council’s letter on the matter is being addressed to Premier Doug Ford, MP Kyle Seeback, MPP Sylvia Jones, and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Nicola Mercer.
The letter states that, “during these unprecedented times, while it’s unsafe to conduct road tests in locked down areas, it is therefore not safe to conduct road tests for any of the patrons residing in lockdown zones.”
And requests that cross-regional access to local road test amenities be restricted until it is deemed safe for them to resume.
Some of the Drive Test examiners are refusing work due to unsafe conditions created by testing individuals from locked down areas, since they’re at a much