Communities will suffer as ServiceOntario offices close: OPSEU

TORONTO, May 12, 2016 /CNW/ - More Ontario communities will suffer a loss of service as a result of upcoming closures to nine ServiceOntario offices, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union says.

The province announced on May 4 that ServiceOntario offices in Minden, Guelph, Mississauga, Milton, Terrace Bay, Embrun, Morrisburg, Blind River and Kemptville will close by February 2017 or earlier.

OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is calling on Premier Kathleen Wynne to make providing good services to all Ontarians a priority regardless of geography.

"Ontarians use ServiceOntario to get birth certificates, driver's licences, health cards, and other government documents they need," Thomas said. "They shouldn't be denied service because of where they live."

An online petition to save the ServiceOntario office in Kemptville has received close to 1,500 signatures already. A similar petition in Minden has received nearly 500. Minden residents will face a 30-minute drive – one way – to get service if their local office closes.

The Ontario government says ServiceOntario offices will close in Mississauga, Terrace Bay, Guelph, and Milton on October 28, 2016; in Minden, Embrun, and Morrisburg on November 25; and in Blind River and Kemptville on February 24, 2017.

OPSEU represents 1,100 staff working at ServiceOntario offices in 85 communities across the province.

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

Warren (Smokey) Thomas, 613-329-1931; Richard Bradley, OPSEU Staff Representative, Minden, 1-800-268-7376 ext. 5321