Todd McCarthy, Minister of Public and Business Service, January 29, 2024. Screen shot
The Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery is defending the government’s decision to set up Service Ontario centres in retail outlets and others instead of having stand-alone facilities.
Six centres will open in southern Ontario Staples stores next month.
A new centre opened within Pickle Lake’s municipal office last Fall.
Todd McCarthy says it is the public wanting better confidence.
“What I hear from moms and dads and small business owners across the province is they want and need that convenience of accessibility, of longer hours, of better parking, of being part of a community hub when they’re accessing government services, that’s what is necessary,” says McCarthy.
McCarthy adds having Service Ontario centres in retail outlets is not new.
It was the Liberal government under Dalton McGuinty that allowed for Service Ontario centres in retail outlets in 2010, leading to locations in certain Canadian Tire, IDA and Home Hardware stores.
The Minister says there will be savings from setting up in the Staples stores to having centres in stand-alone locations.
“When my ministry officials looked at the expiring contracts, they could see that over the next three years, there was going to be over $11 million in operating costs. Those operating costs with these pilot projects are now being reduced to about $10 million. And that’s including the capital cost for the retrofit investment that’s always borne by the government. So that savings is a million dollars over three years,” says McCarthy.
He says the province is exploring other partnership opportunities for Service Ontario centres.
This could include co-locations with municipal offices, First Nations, public libraries and other retail sites.
The province is also planning to create mobile service centres for remote communities.
