The contract holder of a private Service Ontario location in Corunna says independent counters across Ontario are facing critical funding freezes.
Christyann Alexander said there is a misconception that all Service Ontario locations are directly owned and run by the provincial government.
"187 counters are actually operated by an independent local small business," said Alexander. "Right now, independent operators are facing critical, multi-year funding freezes from the province under the current contract terms."
Alexander said the Lyndoch Street site -- which handles driver, vehicle, and health card paperwork, is scheduled to switch to the new compensation model on August 4.
"The compensation simply does not cover basic commercial overhead," she said. "Things like commercial rent, hydro, insurance, or fair living wages for our counter staff."
Alexander has launched an online petition urging provincial decision makers and the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement to implement a more realistic model that reflects 2026 operating costs.
"The community support has been incredible," she said. "We've already gathered more than 300 signatures [online], plus signatures from our counter."
In her opinion, Alexander said the new model fits a big box store and puts operations like hers at risk.
"If this model isn't fixed... small, independent counters across the province will face a very real threat of permanent closure. Losing our counter would be a huge blow. We serve a lot of seniors, a lot of rural residents and small business owners that rely on face-to-face service to navigate complex transactions," Alexander said.
There are a total of three employees at the St. Clair Township location, including Alexander.
She said her family has operated the site for a few generations, after her grandmother opened it in the 1980s.
