The Ontario government announced on Monday that six ServiceOntario centres will open in Staples Canada stores as of Thursday.
The stores are in Oakville, Newmarket, Scarborough, Strathroy, Welland and Tillsonburg.
Residents will be able to access in-person government services from those retail outlets, which is part of a three-year pilot project launched by the Ford government with the aim of improving customer service and increasing convenience.
Another three centres will open later this year in Keswick, Toronto and Hamilton.
Details of the plan were officially made public by Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery Todd McCarthy at a news conference on Monday morning.
The government said that expiring contracts provided them with an opportunity to “reassess” ServiceOntario’s service delivery.
According to the province, over a dozen retailers were engaged in the process, and consideration was given to community presence, cost effectiveness, customers service excellence and scalability.
The Canadian Press has learned that the plan to move nine ServiceOntario outlets into Staples Canada stores is part of a broader push by the government to consider new locations for all of the stand-alone, privately run operations of the provincial provider.
As the contracts for 134 privately operated Service Ontario locations approach expiry, the government will review them to determine if they should continue to operate similarly or be closed and moved into different outlets.
files from The Canadian Press
