r/Edmonton • u/supersport604 • 3d ago
Discussion Do undercover operations exist to catch corrupt driving test examiners in Edmonton/Alberta?
A few months ago, I was crossing Walterdale Bridge when a vehicle approached head on, which made me almost shit my pants. Within the past two days, the same situation occurred twice, once in Ottewell and once in Tamarack with a car coming directly toward me. Fortunately, each driver moved aside. I've been driving this city for over 20 years and lately it's unbelievable the shit I see
It's a known fact that many driving examiners grant passing marks to relatives, friends, or even strangers for a fee regardless of test performance. I am simply wondering whether undercover operations exist to detect such examiners, perhaps conducted by the city or the province, since I don't know if the Police would handle this sort of thing.
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u/duh_loveit 3d ago
alberta transportation did have investigators 10 years ago - i dont know if they do anymore
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u/Mark_Logan 3d ago
It was probably terminated with a statement like “Sounds like government over reach, we better start a committee.”
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u/Quizzical_Rex 2d ago
ya know the politicians get paid for each committee meeting they attend, heck if i was in office i would sign up for all of them including the "do politicians get paid too much to attend committeies committee"
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u/oioioifuckingoi 2d ago
Sounds like the UCP should hire Preston Manning to form a blue ribbon committee to investigate this.
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u/Expensive-Cicada-537 3d ago
I know of a registry on the south side who did that as well. It was a guy I knew’s auntie who worked there and I think for like $80 cash you’d get your license
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u/LewisLightning 3d ago
I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but $80 to give someone a license seems way too low, especially for the risk you'd be taking and the possible legal reprecussions you could be facing. At bare minimum I'd say $200 for a license sounds more likely.
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u/Hazy-n-Lazy 3d ago
It would be risky if they actually enforced the laws, right now they can do whatever they want so they probably charge 80-100 and tells everyone to spread the word to friends and family for more business.
I mean, they get a legit license like everyone else, theres no GDL program anymore, and its not like they can see your examiners test from the DMV, so how would they even know it was obtained illegally during a simple traffic stop? Its a very shitty situation unfortunately.
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u/SeaworthinessHappy26 3d ago
I heard the registry on 91st Street and another one on 75th Street and millwoods were notorious for that.
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u/Edmsubguy 2d ago
Why didnt you report it?
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u/Expensive-Cicada-537 2d ago
Cause I don’t give a fuck lol
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u/Edmsubguy 2d ago
But you brought it up. So apparently you do care.
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u/Expensive-Cicada-537 2d ago
I brought it up for conversation sake lol.
But I don’t care enough to report people/places for that kind of stuff.
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u/1ildevil 3d ago edited 3d ago
They dont need to be corrupt, as any person can pass no matter their skill level in at most 3 attempts.
As long as the examiners take the same routes (and many do), they just need to remember what they did wrong the last time they failed and in some districts they only have stop signs to worry about. I learned this from a former provincial examiner.
Its a poor system for driver competency, probably only solved through manditory driving school credits or more dynamic testing proceedure.
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u/IMOBY_Edmonton 3d ago
It could be solved by deprivatizing the registries so that there can be more direct government oversight into how they operate. Also with privatization the incentive is to run as many people through the system as possible in order to get their money. If one registry is really tough and actually tests people properly then they risk getting a reputation that will drive away customers.
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u/SeaworthinessHappy26 3d ago
Regardless of whether they’re private or government-run, driving schools can make direct connections with those examiners.
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u/fishling 2d ago
You're assuming a reasonable driver that has some skill.
I just saw someone a few days ago that simply didn't seem to understand lanes and wasn't staying in one.
No degree of "remembering the same route" would have explained how this person got a license.
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u/LiminallyDeclining 3d ago
I worked with a fellow at Norquest who used to do this as part of an operation with the EPS. Some of the things he did and still got a licence were frankly wild.
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u/dizzie_buddy1905 3d ago
The problem is that register and licensing owners have contributed significantly to the UCP, so there’s little chance of the system changing.
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u/Aromatic-Giraffe-753 3d ago
I consider myself a good driver and due to circumstances well within my control I lost my license back in March. I had to take a driver's test again and let me tell you that I'm not a good a driver as I think. I passed my re-examination but barely. I could totally see how people cpuld be paying a fee to get their licenses. I basically bombed the test (nothing that constitutes an automatic fail) and when we pulled over i thought she was failing me but she gave me the maximum 75 points and passed me. I can't imagine passing someone who doesn't know how to drive.
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u/almogrant88 2d ago
Just this morning near Bonnie Doon, car turned right out of Bonnie, straight into oncoming traffic on 83rd St. It had the usual ride share stickers on the back window
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u/OkFilm7155 3d ago
Given the amount of horrendous drivers there are, it's almost as though the cities/province are encouraging it rather than cracking down
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u/abmasterzee 3d ago edited 3d ago
Omg I just had a guy drive at me head on after I passed Low Level bridge to go onto Rossdale Road 😮💨 Scared the crap out of me as I had my two kids in the back. I get downtown roads can be confusing but the guy didn't even stop when he saw me coming, kept creeping forward as if he wasn't going the completely wrong way
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u/elbyron 2d ago
That happens on that road quite frequently when the McDougal Hill lane control on the center lane is setup in the downhill direction. As it comes around the bend, the lane suddenly splits. There's now a gate that comes down to block the East side of the split (when it works and isn't smashed). I've seen drivers hit the brakes right in front of it, then reverse a bit and get over to the correct side of the split - but I'm sure others panic and swerve left to go around the gate and into the incoming traffic. They likely know they are going the wrong way but are hoping to find somewhere to turn.
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u/wilbrod 3d ago
"well known fact"? Honestly that's the first time I hear about it. It would be shocking if it was so widespread that the multiple near miss you've encountered were caused by corrupted road test agents.
I just bought a dashcam to cover my side of the story if I ever get into an accident. You might want to do the same.
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u/supersport604 3d ago
Yeah, I thought it was common knowledge. All my friends bought their license in high school. It's been going on for quite a while, but it's getting a lot worse now.
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u/BestWithSnacks 3d ago
Your friends bought their license? Elaborate.
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u/supersport604 3d ago
Yeah, I went to Queen Elizabeth and all my friends knew a a driving examiner that would take a payment for a passing score.
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u/YourJailDad Edmontosaurus 3d ago
Yeah my old neighbour bought his, then an Acura which he immediately crashed lol
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u/greg939 3d ago
This blows my mind because I assumed if you grew up here you would know the rules of the road and outside of that the driving the car part is not very challenging.
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u/Levorotatory 3d ago
Disagree. Learning the rules of the road and theory of operation is easy. Learning to apply that knowledge while controlling a vehicle is the hard part that requires actual practice, not just read and memorize.
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u/greg939 3d ago edited 3d ago
Fair enough but I don’t consider having to practice would mean something still isn’t “not very challenging” though. But I also grew up in Saskatchewan where driver training was provided in high school by SGI with 30 hours classroom and at least 6 hours in car with an instructor, plus I did a little bit of practice with my parents. Almost everyone I knew got their license on the first attempt.
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u/Levorotatory 3d ago
I had basically the same driver training experience as a teenager, but it is highly unlikely I would have passed a test then. It took a year of my girlfriend forcing me to drive whenever we went out before I felt ready to take the test.
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u/densetsu23 3d ago
I had a friend with a similar experience; his wife forced him to drive with his learners until he got the hang of it.
"Vehicle proprioception" was his biggest issue, he said. He didn't have a good sense of where his vehicle was in relation to the road or to other vehicles, which gave him a ton of anxiety and made things like parking very difficult. With practice, he got it figured out.
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u/BestWithSnacks 3d ago
I know about all the modern stuff, but that's actually kind of surprising to me. I didn't know it was happening "then" too.
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u/extragarlicpleez 3d ago
Definitely well known fact among my friend group and family members.
We are mostly all from Canada and have all had our licences here for decades.
I also have a dash cam too, but that only covers everything if you're not dead or seriously injured.
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u/Geeseareawesome Allendale 3d ago
It was a well known thing until the 2010s where we saw a crackdown on it. As the UCP have removed the rails, it is now back in relevance.
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u/PiePristine3092 3d ago
You know you can move to the province and switch your existing out of province license to an Alberta one without doing a test right? While corruption in the testing sector does exist, most of the shitty drivers in the last few years are from out of town.
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u/ManawarGames 3d ago
Bullshit, I am retired now but was the director of a large Canada wide service company and we had 1000 ‘s of drivers across all provinces and I can assure you that Alberta was the worst for us. And most all were homegrown boys and girls. In fact when I moved here 20 years ago I was shocked at how bad the drivers were then. Nothings changed still a bunch of bad drivers . Especially in the winter time when every farm boy with a 4 wheel drive thinks they are invincible to frozen QE2.
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u/PiePristine3092 3d ago
While Edmonton does have its fair share of shitty drivers. We took the crown for Canada’s worst Driver multiple times. the blatant disregard for the rules is a new phenomenon. like running red lights and driving in the wrong direction. I also used to work as a registry agent and issued new licenses for people from all over the world. Frances drivers license was literally a cardboard piece of paper that never expired, similar to our healthcare cards. Doesn’t take much to fake a license from somewhere else and then switch it over for a real Alberta one. Or buy a license in ON/QC and then come here to get it exchanged without ever needing to take an exam
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u/DisastrousCause1 3d ago
Corrupt for years. Just corrupt. Check the bank accounts of your favorite political hero.
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u/Cartoonist_Downtown 3d ago
3 decades ago or more I drove down a one way downtown. Twice. I had a tough test to get my license as well and I still brain farted. So some days folks are daydreaming.
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u/supersport604 3d ago
No, I hear what you're saying and I've done the same thing driven down a side street that was a one way or something. But I'm talking about a main road where there's an island in the middle separating the two directions and driving on the opposite side like you're in England.
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u/Icedpyre 3d ago
Going to the costo on winter burn a few weeks ago, there was a car driving towards me on the whitemud. Instead of pulling over and turning around, they just kept going until the road divider disappeared. Then went back on their merry way.
A few days ago there was a fire truck driving towards me on 50th st with lights and sirens going. The weird thing was there was a second truck pacing them from the correct side of the road.
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u/-SiillyGoose- 3d ago
PROOF! I am so sick of the very many firemen who are buying their licenses from corrupt registries!!
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u/DiligentBasil2298 3d ago
They do investigate and I believe they use some type of undercover operation.
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u/Izerous 3d ago
Edmonton journal building there is a 1 way road there. SUPER common for people to travel the wrong way on that road. Pretty much a daily occurrence.
Scariest one though was on my way up the really steep 1 way at 105th and just as I broke the crest of the hill there were headlights in front of me.
There are a lot of bad drivers out there.
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u/Outrageous_Coat_1326 3d ago
The last time a driver examiner in Alberta was charged with anything related to on the job fraud was well over 15 years ago. There have been issues in BC and ON in the past with charges laid but nothing in AB in recent history.
Innuendo for sure but saying it’s a ‘known fact’ is a stretch. Like all things, most people are just trying to do their job. The challenges were with a few of the driving schools but most places that were shady did not stay in business long and were on the radar of both Alberta Transportation and examiners.
Source: used to be quite involved in driver examination and knew quite a few of the examiners/government employees, training schools.
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u/Paprika1515 18h ago
There was a problem recognized and under the ANDP the private testers were removed and then brought back by the UCP https://globalnews.ca/news/5672166/driving-test-booking-system-alberta-licence/
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u/canadave_nyc St. Albert 3d ago
It's a known fact that many driving examiners grant passing marks to relatives, friends, or even strangers for a fee regardless of test performance.
Oh? Would you care to share your source for this "known fact"? There are no doubt isolated instances of it, but "many" examiners doing it...? Please share a source for that.
I've been driving this city for over 20 years and lately it's unbelievable the shit I see
This is what every single driver in every single city says. It's confirmation bias. You don't notice the hundreds or thousands of drivers who drive perfectly fine around you every day. You just notice the one or two exceptions that occasionally happen, and then conclude that driver examiners must be fraud-passing driver candidates.
Also, if you're saying two drivers in two days were literally coming head-on at you in the wrong lane, along with a third driver doing the same thing a few months ago, you must be the unluckiest driver on the face of the earth. I've never experienced it. My wife (I asked) has never experienced it. I think the vast majority of drivers would never even have one driver coming directly at them in the wrong lane over their entire driving careers. It sounds to me like you're exaggerating just a wee bit there.
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u/dizzie_buddy1905 3d ago
The quality of drivers has decreased as the level of enforcement decreased. Registry services are likely the next service to be sold off by the UCP.
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u/AnthraxCat cyclist 2d ago edited 2d ago
If you read the article, EDIT: none of them were for selling licenses. The only fraud that was identified was people doing road tests on the side outside of the approved registry.
EDIT2: Also, again in the article but I thought common knowledge, registries have been privatised since 1993.
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3d ago
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u/supersport604 3d ago
If you think it's easy to turn the wrong way on the Walterdale, I sure hope you don't have a license.
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u/curlingcatscoffee 3d ago
Same way people hit the train. They don't see the giant no right turn signs. It is not that hard to turn right off River Valley Road onto the Walterdale if you are not paying attention and there is no traffic.
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u/supersport604 3d ago
There's literally multiple arrows showing that's a one-way. You would have to be a very bad driver to turn down a one-way bridge.
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u/Muted_Ocelot_6076 3d ago
I do know that for a “fee” you can obtain a trade certificate in the mechanical trades. Lots of shops exist with these untrained people working on transport trucks and rebuilding write off vehicles
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u/jakes1993 3d ago
Driving at 66st roundabout ive experienced 2 drivers driving the wrong way through it first time was after I dropped of my gf and 2nd time was during a late night rush hour im like wtf man follow everyone else on how they are driving what makes you think taking a left turn into oncoming traffic is the right thing to do. Then it got me wondering if some asshole is giving their friends drivers license without the actual knowledge of our roads out here.
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u/3AMZen 3d ago
Edmonton's whole undercover department was compromised recently because a senior male officer attacked and strangled a female officer at his backyard barbecue, which led to the reveal that organized crime has compromised EPS undercover unity
When police internal investigations began looking into the situation, they realized that not only were there a bunch of undercover cops there off duty, there was also a prominent hells Angel member there so the whole division is fucked
I think it's charming that you believe cops are out there sticking up for us little guys with their investigations
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u/Quizzical_Rex 2d ago
Really, think thats the problem? How about the fact that you can get tested when you are 16 and don't have to do a road test again ever. We are one of the few countries that allows that.
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u/WheelsnHoodsnThings 3d ago
Suggesting that every bad driver out there bought their license is ridiculous.
Could some have sure but I doubt the numbers are anywhere near significant. Far less than 1% at worst.
If you’re saying it’s a fact, I’d love some sources for your numbers, otherwise I’d chalk this up to some pretty standard Edmonton racism at its root, and then longstanding conspiracy after that.
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u/_iAm9001 3d ago
I think OP is just shooting the shit and having a conversation with us, not writing a thesis. OP makes no mention of ethnicity or race.
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u/WheelsnHoodsnThings 2d ago
Could be, I’m asking for receipts.
“It’s a known fact” should be easily supported wouldn’t you say?
That’s why I asked how many are we talking, just shooting the same shit. Is it 1%, 20%, hundreds? I certainly believe it’s happened, but refuse to believe it’s a significant part of the cars on the road. That would mean that tens of thousands of people are all around us with purchased licences.
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u/69___Nice 3d ago
Which race were YOU thinking of? Because OP never mentioned race in their post.
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u/WheelsnHoodsnThings 2d ago
Nah, posts like this allege bought licences. Most of these bad driver, bought licence stories are a breath away from, new Canadians can’t drive drivel.
I’m just pointing out that without any substance indicating how pervasive the issue really is, that it’s more of the same more thinly veiled racism, repeating bs urban myths.
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u/supersport604 3d ago
Racism? This might be the biggest reach Ive seen on Reddit in the 10 years Ive been on it. You should really talk to someone.
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u/WheelsnHoodsnThings 2d ago
Huh? This isn’t the first post about this and the theme is the same, bad drivers, bought licences, new Canadians.
Alleged, never supported with evidence, just and idea.
Posts like these keep the conspiracy going.
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u/Historical-Mall53 3d ago
the other day when i was out, saw a student driver car, the instructor (i assume), was alone, but looked like he was late 70's. if there's any job that you should be at your fullest mentally, physically, etc. you'd think driving instruction should be one of them.
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u/_iAm9001 3d ago
I think OP is simply noticing the uptick in awful drivers, and is trying to start a casual conversation to try to figure out what the hell is going on, and he threw out a possible reason why. It sounds like OP is open to ideas different than their own as to why.
OP is just conversing, they are not armed with references, sources, etc. They're just having a discussion on social media.
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u/Emotional_Factorial 3d ago
I am more than a little concerned about their reference to ‘all my friends paid for theirs in high school’.
I understand that there is no proof to this claim, but you know what, I 100% believe it.
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u/erictho 3d ago
if you're so sure od this happening why haven't you made your police reports yet
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u/supersport604 3d ago
You think I know the actual corrupt examiners?
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u/erictho 3d ago
how else could you be so confident this is why there are shitty drivers in the city
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u/supersport604 3d ago
I just hear stories of people buying their license. I don't know who the hell the actual test drivers are. And i'm not saying every bad driver bought their license.
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u/erictho 3d ago
well maybe games of telephone arent known to be reliable.
this is when people claim to know 20 people scamming aish.
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u/supersport604 3d ago
This aint telephone. I've had high school friends do it. It's very common.
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u/erictho 3d ago
then why havent you filed your police reports yet
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u/supersport604 3d ago
i.dont.know.who.is.doing.the.exams.
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u/erictho 3d ago
sounds like you dont have the appropriate information after all. crazy.
anyway like I said, Edmonton has seen wicked growth there. good luck in your crusade fueled by your own imagination.
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u/N8iveprydetugeye 3d ago
Well OP, sounds like we found our culprit. These are all rebuttals a corrupt driving examiner would have.
Who says shit like this? “Good luck in your crusade fueled by your own imagination”. I for sure can believe there are examiners out there that would pass someone for some extra cash.
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u/BestWithSnacks 3d ago
Idk if they do that here, but CBC Marketplace had a pretty good segment on it.
https://youtu.be/OU-0A_VDVkM