A ServiceOntario location in Markham | |
Agency overview | |
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Formed | 2006[1] |
Minister responsible | |
Website | www |
ServiceOntario is part of the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery which provides a single point of contact for core provincial government services to individuals and businesses in the province of Ontario, Canada. Established in 2006 from the existing network of Driver and Vehicle License Issuing Offices, ServiceOntario provides services primarily online and in-person at storefront locations, and also operates telephone call centres. [1]
Some services were also formerly provided by automated ServiceOntario self-service kiosks located primarily in shopping malls. [1] Following the discovery in 2012 that illegal card skimming devices were installed on some kiosks in the Greater Toronto Area, all kiosks were shut down province-wide for security reasons. [2] The provincial government permanently discontinued the kiosks later that year. [3]
Some ServiceOntario locations are operated by private businesses under contract to the government. [4] [5]
The following are some of the services delivered by ServiceOntario on behalf of the government:
In January 2024, the Doug Ford government announced that some standalone ServiceOntario locations would be closed and replaced by kiosks co-located at retail stores to "reduce the overall cost to deliver government services to the public." [6] The majority of these locations are situated within Staples stores, while two are located at Walmart stores. [7] These kiosks are a pilot project intended to reduce wait times and increase availability of services, with further partnerships with other businesses being investigated. [8] Doug Ford has compared the scheme to how some Canada Post offices operate inside Shoppers Drug Mart locations. [9] Taxpayer money is being used to fund the construction of the kiosks, at an estimated cost of $1.75 million. [9]
The program has faced criticism; the Ontario NDP questioned the provincial government's decision to enter into a taxpayer-funded sole-source contract with an American-owned corporation to deliver government services. [6] A request was made to the Financial Accountability Office by the Liberal Party in regards to the deal. [10]
Zellers was a Canadian discount store chain founded by Walter P. Zeller in 1931. It was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1978, and after a series of acquisitions and expansions, peaked with 350 locations in 1999. However, fierce competition and an inability to adapt during the retail apocalypse resulted in Zellers losing significant ground in the 2000s.
Loblaw Companies Limited is a Canadian retailer encompassing corporate and franchise supermarkets operating under 22 regional and market-segment banners, as well as pharmacies, banking and apparel. Loblaw operates a private label program that includes grocery and household items, clothing, baby products, pharmaceuticals, cellular phones, general merchandise and financial services. Loblaw is the largest Canadian food retailer, and its brands include President's Choice, No Name and Joe Fresh. It is controlled by George Weston Limited, a holding company controlled by the Weston family; Galen G. Weston is the chair of the Loblaw board of directors, as well as chair of the board of directors and CEO of Canada-based holding company George Weston.
The Canada Revenue Agency is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax credits. Legislation administered by the CRA includes the Income Tax Act, parts of the Excise Tax Act, and parts of laws relating to the Canada Pension Plan, employment insurance (EI), tariffs and duties. The agency also oversees the registration of charities in Canada, and enforces much of the country's tax laws.
Staples Inc. is an American office supply retail company headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Sam's West, Inc. is an American chain of membership-only warehouse club retail stores owned and operated by Walmart Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Walmart founder Sam Walton as Sam's Wholesale Club. As of January 31, 2019, Sam's Club ranks second in sales volume among warehouse clubs with $84.3 billion in sales, behind its main rival Costco Wholesale.
T&T Supermarket is a Canadian Asian supermarket chain offering a wide range of fresh produce, meat, seafood, and authentic specialty items from various Asian cuisines. It also sells kitchenware and gifts, and has an extensive in-store kitchens and bakery selection. T&T Supermarket was founded in Vancouver in 1993 by Cindy Lee and Jack Lee with Cindy operating the business as CEO. Cindy's eldest daughter Tina Lee succeeded her mother in 2014 and continues to be the CEO today. In 2009, a majority stake of T&T Supermarket was acquired by Loblaw Companies Limited.
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Ontario to become law. Together, the Legislative Assembly and Lieutenant Governor make up the unicameral Legislature of Ontario. The assembly meets at the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park in the provincial capital of Toronto.
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is a Crown agency that retails and distributes alcoholic beverages throughout the Canadian province of Ontario. It is accountable to the Legislative Assembly through the minister of finance. It was established in 1927 by the government of Premier George Howard Ferguson to sell liquor, wine, and beer. Such sales were banned outright in 1916 as part of prohibition in Canada. The creation of the LCBO marked an easing of the province's temperance regime. By September 2017, the LCBO was operating 651 liquor stores.
Brewers Retail Inc., doing business as The Beer Store, is a privately owned chain of retail outlets selling beer and other malt beverages in the province of Ontario, Canada.
Staples Canada ULC, operating as Staples, is a Canadian retail sales company owned by Sycamore Partners. Staples was founded by Leo Kahn and Thomas G. Stemberg. Since 2017, Staples Canada has operated independently from Staples' U.S. retail and U.S. business-to-business (B2B) operations.
The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is the provincial ministry of the Government of Ontario that is responsible for transport infrastructure and related law in Ontario, Canada. The ministry traces its roots back over a century to the 1890s, when the province began training Provincial Road Building Instructors. In 1916, the Department of Public Highways of Ontario (DPHO) was formed and tasked with establishing a network of provincial highways. The first was designated in 1918, and by the summer of 1925, sixteen highways were numbered. In the mid-1920s, a new Department of Northern Development (DND) was created to manage infrastructure improvements in northern Ontario; it merged with the Department of Highways of Ontario (DHO) on April 1, 1937. In 1971, the Department of Highways took on responsibility for Communications and in 1972 was reorganized as the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MTC), which then became the Ministry of Transportation in 1987.
Walmart Canada is a Canadian retail corporation and the Canadian branch of the U.S.-based multinational retail conglomerate Walmart. Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, it was founded on March 17, 1994, with the purchase of the Woolco Canada chain from the F. W. Woolworth Company.
Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services is an intercity bus service operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a Crown agency of the government of Ontario, Canada. Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services operates passenger and parcel transportation service in northern Ontario, with additional routes connecting northern Ontario to the Greater Toronto Area, Winnipeg, and Ottawa.
Mike Schreiner is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the Green Party of Ontario since 2009. Schreiner sits as a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), representing Guelph; his 2018 election made him the first Green Party member elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
Kristyn Wong-Tam is a Canadian politician who has represented Toronto Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2022 as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP).
Target Canada Co. was the Canadian subsidiary of the Target Corporation, the eighth-largest retailer in the United States. Formerly headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, the subsidiary formed with the acquisition of Zellers store leases from the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in January 2011. Target Canada opened its first store in March 2013, and by January 2015 was operating 133 locations throughout Canada. Its main competition included Walmart Canada, Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Canadian Tire.
The Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, operating as Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), is a Crown corporation that manages a legal monopoly over the online retail and wholesale distribution of recreational cannabis to consumers and privately operated brick and mortar retailers respectively throughout Ontario, Canada.
Doug Ford is the 26th and current premier of Ontario, Canada. He won a majority in the 2018 Ontario general election, as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PCPO) caucus in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and was sworn in as premier on June 29, 2018. He was re-elected with an increased majority in the June 2, 2022 Ontario general election.
A parcel locker is an automated postal box that allows users for a self-service collection of parcels and oversize letters as well as the dispatch of parcels.
The following had been the provincial governmental response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario.