With investigation looming, Ford government continues to dodge questions on ServiceOntario deal

It continues to be almost radio silence from the Ford government when it comes to our exclusive reporting on changes being made to ServiceOntario. With a possible investigation into the matter looming, veteran political observers are suggesting the government needs to change its communication tactics.

“The key thing is that there isn’t a framing of an overall approach to this that’s being communicated effectively to the voting public,” said John Wright, the Executive Vice-President of Maru Public Opinion.

“The public has to understand the bigger picture of why it’s being done and secondly that they’re going to want to understand the transparency of the transaction. Those are the two things that the government has to take into account.”

Last week CityNews first reported that the government was set to close 11 ServiceOntario locations and replace them with kiosks inside Staples Canada and Walmart stores. The sole-sourced, taxpayer-funded deals have raised eyebrows around Queen’s Park.

The kiosks, where Ontarians will be able to do things like renew driver’s licences and health cards, are part of a pilot project first announced in December 2023 to “reduce the overall cost to deliver government services to the public.”

“That program is going to save taxpayers $1 million every year, year over year,” was Deputy Premier Sylvia Jones’ response on Wednesday when asked by CityNews about the sole-sourced deals.

A spokesperson within the Premier’s Office previously said the government conducted lengthy consultations with retail partners and that Staples Canada was selected due to the size of its stores, parking availability, number of locations across Ontario, and willingness to participate. It also claimed customers will benefit from having a 30 per cent improvement to current service accessibility hours by moving them to Staples.

Answers could eventually be forthcoming from the Auditor General as the Green Party has requested a value-for-money audit.

“The Office of the Auditor General received a request from MPP Mike Schreiner to conduct a performance or value-for-money audit of the government’s decision to close a number of ServiceOntario locations and relocate service kiosks within Staples and Walmart locations,” read a statement sent to CityNews.

“The Office reviews the requests we receive and considers all the information available to determine whether we will look into those matters as part of our audit selection process”

“What we do know is that it could take months and months and months for an answer on this. It buys the government a lot of time to shape its narrative,” said Wright. “And I think we have to look at the landscape of this, the government is utilizing private sector organizations with a large influx of people so that they can improve their distribution system.”

Questions remain as to why the big box retail stores need taxpayer dollars for the retrofit of the kiosks considering one of them, Staples, admits it is looking to monetize the new arrangement.

There is also the matter of the 11 ServiceOntario owners affected by the closures.

All the ServiceOntario locations being closed by the government are privately owned and run as small businesses. Only the two outlets moving into Walmart in London South and Keswick will be run by the existing owners, although that arrangement may change in the coming months. The other mostly family-run businesses were given just 70 days notice of the closures and they were made to sign non-disclosure agreements when it was learned they were losing their businesses. Many say they have been left with a mountain of debt, years remaining on their lease agreements, and no answers as to why the government would throw them out of work.

The office of Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery, Todd McCarthy, has not responded to interview requests by CityNews for the past week and a half.