A backlog at Service Ontario causes headaches for some people renewing accessible parking permits

A backlog at Service Ontario has caused a disabled man months of grief as he awaits his accessible parking permit.

It’s generally delivered in the mail and is valid for five years but Gary Bentley says he’s been waiting since the spring to receive his renewed pass.

“I have advanced bone degeneration in my neck. It’s very, very painful.”

He says he sent in all the required paperwork for the permit renewal in the spring. Instead of getting the 5 year permit in the mail, he’s had to make multiple trips to the Service Ontario to pick up temporary permits and to get information on the delay.

Employees at Service Ontario in St. Catharines say there is a huge backlog at the head office in Kingston. They say its created a lot more work for them as well as they have to keep renewing these temporary permits while people wait for their five year accessible parking permit.

In a statement the ministry of government and consumer services says “Service Ontario is experiencing longer than normal processing time. We apologize for the delays customers may be experiencing and are working hard to clear the backlog as quickly as possible”.

The ministry didn’t say what’s causing this backlog or when it’s expected to be resolved. They did say however that because of these delays they have extended the validity of the temporary permits from 3 months to 4 months to give people more time to hopefully receive their permanent passes in the mail.