Ontario government's partnership with ServiceOntario and Staples Canada raises questions
A ServiceOntario located photographed in Cornwall, Ont.
The Ontario government is reportedly closing an undisclosed number of ServiceOntario locations as it moves forward with a plan to open new centres in select Staples Canada stores.
The government announced the change in December , stating it was “making it easier and more convenient for families and businesses to access vital government services.” It added that the new scheme would “reduce the overall cost to deliver government services to the public.”
The announcement did not mention any closures. Citing unnamed sources within the premier’s office, CityNews reported that an unspecified number of ServiceOntario centres are set to close and will have new locations open in Staples Canada stores.
There are 275 ServiceOntario locations currently operating in the province under a mix of private and provincial ownership. A 2013 Auditor General of Ontario report found that out of the then-289 ServiceOntario centres, 82 were provincially run and 207 were privately owned.
CityNews reported that some of the locations set to close have been family businesses for decades and they were given just 70 days’ notice of the impending closures.
ServiceOntario says it completes 59 million transactions annually, and private operators are paid a commission for each transaction they process. It helps residents get vital documents, such as health cards, birth certificates and driver’s licences.
The government source told CityNews that Staples Canada was chosen after lengthy consultations with possible retail partners, including factoring in the number of locations, the size of the stores and parking availability, among other considerations.
The source said that Staples Canada was chosen as a partner because it met all its criteria and the shift will give customers “a 30 per cent improvement to current service accessibility hours.”
The reaction to the announcement on social media has been mixed, with some Ontarians, particularly in rural areas, expressing concerns about the impact the change could have on services in their communities, and the distances they would have to travel to access Staples Canada locations.
Staples Canada currently operates in 73 cities in Ontario. The privately held business was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Richmond Hill, Ont.
Catherine Fife, the official opposition NDP critic for the finance and treasury board, said the move “raises serious concerns about Ontarians’ access to government services.
“Closing down ServiceOntario locations without details of how many or how service demands will be managed, especially in Northern and rural parts of the province, is worrisome,” she said . “This is not an expansion of service, but another attempt for Ford to quietly hand over more of our public services to private corporations.”
The financial details of the partnership, including what cost savings are expected, have not been disclosed.
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