By the end of the week, Tillsonburg and Strathroy will be home to two of the first Staples Canada-operated ServiceOntario centres in the province.
The provincial government announced on Monday it will officially launch the expansion of ServiceOntario in six Staples Canada stores on February 1.
"By partnering with an experienced, established retailer with a strong community presence like Staples Canada, we can create simpler, faster and better ways to connect Ontarians to the vital services they depend on,” Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery Todd McCarthy said in a statement. “Our retailer partnership program will enhance the customer experience and meet the needs of communities by bringing government services where people live, work and shop.”
The first two ServiceOntario locations to be located inside Staples outlets in southwestern Ontario include at the Tillsonburg Town Centre at 200 Broadway Street in Tillsonburg and at 425 Caradoc Street South in Strathroy.
The remaining four locations are in Oakville, Scarborough, Newmarket, and Welland.
The decision to relocate these centres to the big box store is part of a three-year pilot, which the Ontario government claims will save the province approximately $1 million over its duration. The new centres are also expected to extend operating hours moving from a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. model in favour of one that will see services available as late as 9 p.m. on weekdays.
The province intends to open additional ServiceOntario centres in Staples Canada stores in Hamilton, Keswick, and Toronto later this year.
The NDP has been critical of the provincial government's decision to shift ServiceOntario into the American-owned retailer's stores without holding a formal bidding process, open to all retailers.
"If the Conservatives had actually made this decision with the interests of everyday Ontarians in mind, they would have no trouble explaining why they didn’t open it up to a competitive bid,” said NDP critic for Consumer Tom Rakocevic. "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.”
