9 privately run ServiceOntario outlets moving to Staples stores, province says

The provincial government is moving nine privately run ServiceOntario outletsto Staples Canada stores this year, theminister of public and business service delivery said Monday.

Todd McCarthy announced the impending changes at a morning news conference in Oakville, where he saidthe move will mean longer operating hours and better parking for Ontarians who need to access government services.

Six locations will open by Feb. 1, with three additional outlets expected in Staples stores within the coming months.

The first six locations are:

• Oakville, 2460 Winston Churchill Blvd.
• Newmarket,17810 Yonge St.
• Toronto (Scarborough), 1980 Eglinton Ave.E.
• Strathroy,425 Caradoc St. S.
• Tillsonburg, Tillsonburg Town Centre, 200 Broadway St.
• Welland, Seaway Mall, 800 Niagara St.

The three further outlets will be in Hamilton, Keswick and the Leaside neighbourhood of Toronto, according to the province.

McCarthy confirmed earlier reporting by CityNews that the government covered 100 per cent of the costs of retrofitting the Staples stores with ServiceOntario kiosks, though he would not provide specific figures for those expenses. He said that the province always covers the one-time capital costs of retrofits in any privately-run ServiceOntario outlet to "ensure common branding and consistency with protocols."

Including those costs, the plan is expected to reduce operating expensesbetween$900,000 and $1 million over three years compared to ifthe service centres had remainedat their previous locations. McCarthy attributed the projected savings to Staples assuming responsibility for leasing costs.

Opposition criticizessole-source contract

The contract with Staples was sole-sourced, McCarthy said. He addedthat ministry staff reached out to dozens of potential partners but it was Staples that met key criteria including "community presence and scalability."

Don Valley West MPP Stephanie Bowman submitted a request Monday on behalf of the Ontario Liberal Party to the province's Financial Accountability Officer to consider providinganalysis of the province's move to "award contracts without a competitive bidding process to privatize parts of ServiceOntario."

"We ask that you undertake to estimate the financial costs and benefits of these outsourcing arrangements," the letter reads.

"Your analysis would shed much-needed light on the costs and benefits to the taxpayer from these arrangements; the impact, if any, on unionized jobs in the civil service; and other potential implications."

WATCH | Reporters ask minister why province hasn't released full details on Staples deal:

Ontario government dodges questions about new ServiceOntario deal

8 months ago

Duration 2:31

Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery Todd McCarthy announced on Monday that nine privately run ServiceOntario locations will be moving into Staples Canada stores this year. But as CBCs Talia Ricci reports, some reporters felt their questions weren't being answered during the ministers news conference.

In a statement, the opposition NDPzeroed in on the agreement, noting that before taking office, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was critical of the previous Liberal government's use of sole-source contracts.

"This decision clearly has nothing to do with saving taxpayers' money, and everything to do with finding a way to give public dollars to private corporations ... leaving ServiceOntario operators and workers in the lurch," said MPPTom Rakocevic, New Democrat critic for consumer protection.

Ontario Greens Leader Mike Schreiner similarly calledout the governmentonits move to award contractswithout a competitive bidding process.

"Instead of providing some badly needed transparency, this government is busy defending yet another backroom deal designed to help wealthy insiders cash in," Schreiner said in a statement Monday.

Meanwhile, McCarthy said the pilot project will be evaluated on customer wait times and the efficiency of service delivery. For the past 15 years, the province has alsooperatedServiceOntariooutlets in some Canadian Tire stores, IDAstores and Home Hardware locations.

The agreement with Staples is part of a broader pushto consider new locations for all of the stand-alone, privately run operations of the provincial provider, McCarthy said.

LISTEN | Why the province is moving someServiceOntario locations to Staples:

Metro Morning9:37Minister Todd McCarthy on why he's moving several ServiceOntario locations to Staples

Todd McCarthy is the Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery, the ministry that oversees Service Ontario.

As contracts with remaining privately operated ServiceOntario locations approach expiry, the government will be reviewing them to determine if they should continue to operate in the same wayor if they should be closed and moved into retail outlets, librariesor municipal offices.

There are some 190 privately run ServiceOntariooutlets in the province, making up roughly 71 per cent of all locations.

No changes are being contemplated for the more than 80 government-run ServiceOntariocentres.