TORONTO — Officials in Ontario are scrambling to get a security company hired for the G8 and G20 summits a licence to operate in the province.

The Ministry of Community Safety says Contemporary Security Canada is not licensed in Ontario, even though it was hired by the RCMP to provide about 1,100 security guards at the summits.

Spokeswoman Laura Blondeau says the ministry only learned two weeks ago that Contemporary Security Canada, which also provided security at the Vancouver Olympics, was not licensed in Ontario.

Blondeau says the company has provided the ministry with all the necessary paperwork, and officials are now doing background checks on the company and the guards it hired for the summits.

She says the province is confident the licence for Contemporary Security will be issued in time, even though the summits are just over two weeks away.

Blondeau says the Mounties have a long-standing relationship with Contemporary Security, and it's the federal government -- not Ontario -- that is taking the lead on security for the international summits.

"We're down to the eleventh hour, and our priority is to ensure that all policing and security ducks are in place prior to the G20," she said.

"The due diligence process is occurring right now, with the end goal -- if they meet the criteria -- the agency will be licensed in Ontario in time and will be able to do business in Ontario."