Shelley Spence

Ontario's Ministry of Colleges let unregistered private career colleges issue commercial truck driver certificates for years — a public safety failure the Auditor General confirmed in May 2026, finding that 25% of registered colleges were never inspected and unregistered operators had booked over 3,200 road tests with no legal authority.

As Auditor General, Spence authored the May 12, 2026 special report that documented the Ministry's failure to inspect 25% of commercial truck driver training colleges and the continued operation of unregistered colleges issuing fraudulent certificates.

Ontario's Auditor General found that 46 of 72 school boards collectively overspent their special education funding by $397.9 million in 2023–24, while the Ford government's response was to increase funding by just 0.1% and simultaneously cut the Classroom Staffing Fund by $56.2 million — leaving some of Ontario's most vulnerable students to be sent home with no documentation when schools can't accommodate them.

As Auditor General, Spence authored the May 12, 2026 special report documenting Ontario's special education funding shortfall — finding that 46 of 72 school boards overspent by $397.9M while the Ford government cut the Classroom Staffing Fund and raised special ed funding by only 0.1%.

Ontario's child support enforcement agency takes an average of 8.5 months to register a court order and issue a first payment, has allowed $2.1 billion in arrears to accumulate, and left 43 former employees with live access to a database of vulnerable Ontarians' personal information — all findings confirmed by the Auditor General in May 2026.

As Auditor General, Spence authored the May 12, 2026 special report on the Family Responsibility Office, documenting the 8.5-month average wait for a first child support payment, $2.1B in outstanding arrears, and 43 former employees with live database access to personal information.