Student drivers can't find a road test appointment in Ottawa until 2022
Some Ottawa drivers are scrambling to find a road test appointment, as the Ontario government resumes in-vehicle road tests.
The government says there have been more than 400,000 road tests cancelled across the province due to closures during the entire pandemic. In-vehicle road tests resumed this week with COVID-19 restrictions in place, but appointments are hard to come by.
Elliot Gentle, 17, describes looking at the online booking system as "all X's until April of next year."
Gentle wants to book his G2 test as soon as possible, so he took the soonest appointment he could find, and his family will be driving him six hours away to do it.
"I currently have an appointment booked in Sudbury… in October, that was the only available time spots," says Gentle.
His mother Maria McLaughlin says they have spent hours online trying to book a test.
"(Sudbury) was the only spot within an eight-hour drive of Ottawa that had anything this year," said McLaughlin.
She says her son wants his licence to be more independent.
"He is saving his money to buy a car and is going to college next year," said McLaughlin.
The province says they are working on the backlog and are investing more than $16 million to increase road testing capacity at all DriveTest centres across the province. This includes hiring 167 additional driver examiners. This will be on top of nearly 100 temporary examiners the province announced back in the fall.
The province says they are also adding six temporary road-testing locations that will be located within a 30-minute driving radius from existing locations with the greatest demand. None are coming to Ottawa.
In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, the province says, "DriveTest is unable to prioritize customers with cancelled appointments. The current road test booking system does not have the functionality to prioritize road test appointments for specific individuals or groups."
Josh Schmidt spent hours online last week looking for an appointment and found a cancellation at the Walkley Road DriveTest location.
"I just looked all the time, I kept checking the site I checked so many different places, and I got lucky- someone must have cancelled so there was one test in the one day," said Schmidt.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.