Union slams ‘archaic’ licence renewal process after security guards taken off the job

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The president of a union representing thousands of security guards in the province is calling for a streamlined licence-renewal process after at least 100 guards were pulled from their jobs in the past 12 months.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 832 president Jeff Traeger told the Free Press provincial processing delays have resulted in licences expiring as guards wait for renewals to be completed.

Guards cannot legally work under an expired licence, and sometimes spend more than a month off the job — without income — until the new one arrives.

A month with no pay is a significant problem for people often earning close to minimum wage, Traeger said.

“You probably don’t have a lot of money in the bank to carry you,” he said.

The provincial Justice Department’s Private Investigators and Security Guards Program is responsible for processing the annual $30 licence renewals.

Criminal record and child-abuse registry checks, required with new licence applications, need updating only every three years. Between updates, previously licensed guards simply attest to being in the clear.

Traeger doesn’t see the merit of the yearly renewal requirement, calling it “nuts.”

He blamed the former Progressive Conservative government for reducing the number of staff processing renewals for the bottlenecks over the past four or five years.

Renewals that previously took a maximum of four weeks increased to 12, he said.

“Our calls to the last government to fix this problem… fell on deaf ears,” he said.

Tory justice critic Wayne Balcaen said the NDP has cut $9 million for justice system staffing.

“This funding would go a long way in clearing backlogs,” Balcaen said in a statement, calling on Justice Minister Matt Wiebe to “immediately prioritize” renewals for guards with lapsed licences.

Balcaen did not comment on staffing levels during the previous Tory government.

Under the NDP, processing time has fallen to eight weeks from 12, Traeger said.

“They started working with us, and with security companies, to try to correct this issue,” he said, adding the union has twice met with Justice Department officials.

A provincial spokesperson said in a statement the program is fielding between 8,000 and 9,000 applications annually.

The number of staff has increased to six from two or three in past years.

The department is now prioritizing renewals based on expiry dates; it previously used a first-in, first-out system.

“This change has significantly reduced the number of security guards who have had their licences expire due to administrative delays,” the spokesperson wrote.

The province did not answer a question on the number of licences that expired because of processing delays.

Other initiatives, the spokesperson said, include a “voicemail to email service” for more efficient responses to voicemails, and allowing different payment methods for renewals.

The province’s website also provides twice-weekly updates about application processing timelines. As of Tuesday, applications received June 14 were being dealt with.

Even with improvements, Traeger said the province needs to replace its “archaic” way of handling renewals with a fully online process — especially as the demand for security guards increases.

The union represented roughly 1,200 guards in 2016. Its membership now numbers more than 2,500.

“There are guards in almost every downtown building now,” he said, noting concerns about crime in the city.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses echoed the union’s sentiment.

“Excessive government red tape can get in the way of people’s livelihoods, both for the security guards who are being barred from working, and the businesses who rely on them for safety,” CFIB prairie legislative affairs director Brianna Solberg told the Free Press.

Solberg said crime and safety concerns are top of mind for most of the federation’s membership, with 67 per cent spending more on security, including hiring guards.

“The whole licensing process should be streamlined and modernized by moving it online in order to ensure applications are processed in a timely manner,” Solberg said.

jordan.snobelen@freepress.mb.ca