The security fence is taking shape in downtown Toronto for the G20 summit, but it appears a security company expected to supply 1,100 guards doesn't have a licence to operate in Ontario. (CBC)

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

Ministry of Community Safety officials said 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 said the ministry only learned two weeks ago that Contemporary Security Canada, which also provided security at the Vancouver Olympics, was not licensed in Ontario.

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

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

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, Blondeau said.

"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."