Complaint
An individual (the complainant) felt that the Drivers Control Board (DCB), a branch of the Authority, unfairly administered policies and decision-making, and lacked
communication.
Investigation
After reviewing the legislation and the communication between the parties, it was clear there was a disconnect between what the complainant thought the DCB was authorized to do and what the board could do pursuant to their mandate and legislated framework. Our review also found that DCB can do more to help individuals navigate the process and understand the board’s role.
Our investigation also found that the Authority lacked policies and procedures with respect to their work and had no redundancies in place when employees were on leave.
Decision
Unfairness substantiated. Our investigation found no unfairness in the DCB’s decision-making with respect to the complainant; however, we found that their lack of accessible information was unfair and had directly contributed to the complainant’s frustrations.
Recommendations
Accepted. We made two recommendations and one observation to the Authority.
We recommended that the Authority develop internal training and guidance documents for DCB administrative staff. We also recommended that they improve the resources available to potential applicants who want to know DCB’s role in reinstating driving privileges. Highways and Public Works accepted both recommendations and will implement them within 12 months. We also suggested that DCB use plain language writing to improve its communications.