*UPDATE: On Jan. 29, the Edmonton Police Service and Alberta Justice said Wayne Burnash, 61, had been charged with fraud over $5,000.
A driving instructor with the Edmonton Transit Service is no longer working for the City of Edmonton after an audit found the instructor fraudulently handed out nearly 100 driver training course certificates, according to a city report released Thursday.
The report alleges the city employee wrongfully handed out 99 certificates between January 2015 and April 2018. The certificates were obtained by non-City of Edmonton employees as a way to prevent licence suspensions and to reduce their car insurance rates, the report states. The individuals who obtained the certificates did not take driver training courses.
One of the certificates was given to a co-owner of a local limousine rental company, the report states.
“There could potentially be a risk to public safety if wrongfully issued certificates have been used to prevent the suspension of a driver’s licence,” the report going to the city’s audit committee reads.
“In these cases, an individual is able to continue driving without proper training.”
Since 2001, the ETS has been certified by the Alberta government to deliver recognized driver training courses to City of Edmonton employees. The courses include defensive driving and professional driver improvement.
In Alberta, licensed drivers are allowed to accumulate up to 15 demerit points before their licence is suspended. To prevent suspension, drivers can take courses to reduce the number of demerits they have accumulated. A Professional Driver Improvement Certificate can knock off three demerits points.
Fees for these types of courses typically range from $120 to $300, according to the report.
Discrepancies were brought forward to ETS management by an instructor in mid-2018. An internal investigation was launched, which uncovered fraudulent training records.
The Office of the City Auditor, Corporate Security, and Labour Relations then conducted a joint investigation, which revealed that the employee used a gap in the city’s monitoring and oversight processes to falsely issue the certificates. (Read the full investigation report below).
The audit provided two recommendations:
- That the ETS branch manager notify Alberta Transportation of the issue and provide a list of names of the people who received the certificates, which was done on Dec. 31, 2018
- That the ETS branch manager ensure controls over the process for facilitating Professional Driver Improvement Courses and issuing certificates are improved
The city said as of Jan. 14, ETS has enhanced its oversight and monitoring of the process to deliver and administer driving course certificates.
The ETS driving instructor in question is no longer employed with the City of Edmonton, although it’s not known if he was let go or if he left the position.
“Although this was an isolated incident, administration takes this situation very seriously,” a city spokesperson said in a Jan. 29 email to Global News.
“Administration took swift action once made aware of the situation and the instructor is no longer employed with the City of Edmonton.
“Administration has either implemented or nearly completed implementing the city auditor’s recommendations, including strengthening our oversight processes and internal controls. We’re fully co-operating with Edmonton Police Services, as well as the province.”
The audit findings were also handed over to the Edmonton Police Service. Police confirmed Jan. 29 that Wayne Burnash, 61, had been charged with fraud over $5,000.
He is scheduled to appear in court on March 13.
The report will be discussed at the city’s audit committee on Thursday.