ServiceOntario: The Straight Facts
ServiceOntario annually generates $2.7 billion in revenue for the province on an operating budget of only $270 million. That is a 10 to 1 return on investment. These revenues fund essential public services we all rely on.
The McGuinty government likes to claim that two-thirds of ServiceOntario is already privatized. While two-thirds of ServiceOntario’s retail counters are privately run, claiming that two-thirds of ServiceOntario is already privatized is a gross oversimplification. This claim ignores the publicly run backbone of the organization. The components of ServiceOntario directly operated by the province include:
- 87 public counters across Ontario
- 9 contact centers that answer 10 million calls annually
- Online services handling close to 10 million transactions annually
- Mailrooms processing 22 million items annually
ServiceOntario employs about 2400 people that are direct employees of the province. OPSEU represents approximately 1850 of those employees.
These provincial employees:
- Exercise stringent oversight to maintain the integrity of government-issued identification
- Pilot all new initiatives such as the enhanced driver’s licence and Ontario photo card in advance of release to private issuers
- Train private issuers
- Audit private issuers for accuracy and fraud prevention
- Are the subject matter experts on all ServiceOntario programs and transactions
- Are specialists in verifying the legitimacy of photos and documents
ServiceOntario annually handles 48 million transactions including:
- Birth certificates
- Health cards
- Driver and vehicle licensing
Ontarians have no choice but to use ServiceOntario to access these critical government services.
Premier McGuinty plans to sell off ServiceOntario to private investors.
Why would a government sell off an organization that delivers critical services to the people of Ontario and generates $2.7 billion in revenues?
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas has called on the Premier to withdraw the section of the government"s budget bill that will enable the privatization of ServiceOntario.