Driver examiners who yelled at road test clients, failed to check the identity of test takers or accumulated more than seven demerit points on their own licences were some incidents the Alberta government found over a three-year period.

Government officials found 40 cases of violated regulations or policy between 2014 and 2017, according to documents released in a Freedom of Information request by CBC News.

With more than 200,000 road tests conducted in the province every year, the head of an association representing examiners says those infractions are comparatively minimal.

"Ninety-nine per cent of examiners are good, honest and hard working people," said Pete Llewellyn, head of the Certified Driver Examiners Association (CDEA).

"Any company would be happy with that type of rating of complaints."

When the provincial government announced in October it would de-privatize the road test examination industry, it cited inconsistent fees, poor service and a lack of public confidence in the system as some of the reasons for doing so.

Organizations such as the CDEA have vociferously protested the move and last Thursday the group announced it would launch a lawsuit against the government, while the bulk of its members were withholding services in protest.

The government has disputed the number of driver examiners who have walked off the job.

'What makes up a complaint?'

Alberta Transportation says there were more than 200 serious investigations involving driver examiners, driver training schools and registry agents from 2014 to 2017. Thirty-seven of the cases resulted in disciplinary action, ranging from the cancellation of an examiner's licence to verbal warnings.

Some of those cases include:

Thirteen infractions involved an examiner who conducted an improper road test that "did not conform to policy." That could include examiners who didn't follow an approved route, who cancelled a test half-way through if it appeared the client would fail or who used inappropriate language.

Five examiners had their certification revoked after accumulating more than seven demerit points on their own licences.

Three examiners were disciplined after complaints the "driver examiner yell(ed) at the client, making them feel uncomfortable during road test that resulted in failed road test."

There were two criminal investigations for fraud involving examiners who allegedly "improperly purchas(ed) road test permits and conduct(ed) road tests at unapproved registry offices."

Llewellyn, who is the co-owner of a driver's examination company in Calgary, said the government has failed to properly monitor driver examiners, despite multiple reports that pointed to a need for better oversight.

"The enforcement end of it wasn't being done by the government," he said. "We got into this mess because the government wasn't doing its job."

Llewellyn also disputed the government's claim that it receives, on average, 35 complaints a week about driver examinations. He noted that someone once complained that he had failed the client for going over the speed limit.

Some driver examiners have walked off the job and are demanding the Alberta government respond to its demands for fair compensation ahead of changes to the system set to take place March 1, 2019, says Certified Drivers Examiners Association executive director Pete Llewellyn. (Pete Llewellyn) "What makes up a complaint?" he asked.

A 2016 report by the consultant group Tantus found the government likely hears only a fraction of the complaints about the driver's examination process because examinations are run out of registries — and not all registry agents forward complaints to the government, or accurately track what happened.

System privatized in 1993

Alberta privatized its driver examination system in 1993, making it the only province in the country with such a set up.

Transportation Minister Brian Mason said complaints about excessive fees, unreliable service and lack of integrity "played a significant role in our decision to restore Driver Examiners as government employees," he said in a statement.

Service Alberta Minister Brian Malkinson looks on as Transportation Minister Brian Mason announces the end of Alberta's privatized driver examination system in October 2018. (CBC) "Having government employees conduct driver examinations is the most effective way," to create a fair and trustworthy system, the statement said.

But Llewellyn said when he worked as a government-employed driving examiner, prior to the change in 1993, people made similar allegations about breaches of ethics — such as the claim that examiners fail first time-test takers just so they'll have to pay to re-take the test.

Ninety-nine per cent of examiners are good, honest and hard working people. - Pete Llewellyn, head of CDEA

"When I worked for the government I heard the same thing. When I work in the private industry, I hear the same thing," he said. "That's the first thing people will always say to justify that they were inadequate at the road test."

George Iny, a consumer advocate with the Automobile Protection Association, said there is "no reason" the private industry can't meet testing standards and customer service, "but you have to hold them to it."

But he noted that most provinces keep examiners under the purview of the provincial government, "because if you have a public employee, closer to home, you can stay on top of them more easily, I'm guessing."

There are currently about 150 certified driver examiners in the provinces, although it's unclear how many work part-time. Alberta Transportation has said all current examiners can apply to be part of the first cohort of examiners to be hired by the province.

The CDEA says the salaries being offered are too low and they want the government to buy out their businesses, not simply offer them the chance to apply for the new jobs.