May 14, 2012

Premier Dalton McGuinty
Room 281 – Main Legislative Building
Queen’s Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A4

Dear Premier,

According to the Budget, your government’s stated reason for privatizing ServiceOntario is because you need $100 million from the private sector to improve online services.

You are apparently considering investing more than twice that amount in the auto sector.

I do not for a minute begrudge a $240 million investment in the private sector. Ontario needs a progressive economy with an industrial strategy that produces winners. Ontarians also need quality public services. The public sector is the foundation of every modern economy.

ServiceOntario is a huge money-maker for the province. The government operation annually earns $2.7 billion in revenues on only $270 million in operating costs. That is a 10-to-1 return on investment. These revenues fund the public services that Ontarians rely on.

Why would your government give up annual revenues of $2.7 billion in order to obtain $100 million? This must count as one of the most short sighted and potentially dangerous decisions a government has ever made.

Your government’s budget implementation bill includes legislation that will enable the privatization of ServiceOntario.

The Government Services and Service Providers Act 2012 allows for a corporate structure that sounds like the worst excesses of ORNGE. 

This Act allows a holding company to be set up with a network of subsidiary companies, all operating in complete secrecy, outside the oversight of the Auditor General, the Ombudsman and the Legislature.

ServiceOntario’s operations – its public counters, call centres and online services   – could be sold off piece by piece to the highest bidder.

If there is a breach in the security of Ontarians’ personal information – and there are annually 48 million transactions done through ServiceOntario – no one will ever know.

My union calls on your government to immediately withdraw this draft piece of legislation from your Budget bill.

I await your response.

Sincerely,

Warren (Smokey) Thomas
OPSEU President

cc:   Andrea Horwath, Leader, New Democratic Party of Ontario
       Tim Hudak, Leader, Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
        OPSEU Executive Board