Published plans and annual reports 2021-2022: Ministry of Government and Consumer Services

Ministry overview

Ministry’s Vision

The Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (MGCS) is a large direct service-delivery organization, providing services to the people and businesses of Ontario, as well as other ministries 24/7/365. We are leading change across government and actively partnering with other ministries and organizations to improve outcomes and deliver critical services.

MGCS of Government and Consumer Services has a broad mandate to support the government with efficient and effective enterprise business services and solutions, to strengthen consumer protection and public safety, and to provide vital programs, services and products to individuals and businesses.

MGCS connects Ontarians with services at important moments in their lives. People come to us for information and services related to birth, adoption, marriage, death, organ donation, driver’s licences, vehicle registration, health cards and accessible parking permits. This results in over 50 million interactions per year.

The ministry also enforces consumer protection statutes and protects consumers as they make important decisions about home renovation contracts, new home and condominium purchases, travelling and buying a car.

We help Ontario to be Open for Business with business services related to name registrations, incorporations, corporation dissolutions and supporting not-for-profit corporations. We support the government commitment to reduce red tape having generated over $30 million in savings per year for businesses. And we support the vendor community by making it easier to do business with the government.

We deliver business-critical functions that keep the government operating, such as procurement, financial processing, transfer payment administration, human resources, and pay and benefits. We also deliver the essential information technology, data management and cyber security infrastructure to support secure government operations across ministries and programs.

In addition, the ministry manages one of the largest real estate portfolios in Canada, including the policies and programs that focus on cost-effective management of properties. This includes managing the disposition of surplus properties in a way that creates revenue for priority programs, reduces costs and puts properties back into productive use, such as for long-term care and affordable housing development.

COVID‑19 response

The ministry is an integral part of the government’s response to the COVID‑19 pandemic, helping to ensure the Ontario Public Service and Broader Public Sector can continue essential services while staying safe and following public health advice. It has continued the administration of pay and benefits, financial services and information access and management.

The ministry is now a critical supplier for all ministries, supporting their fast-changing needs for protective equipment and supplies to keep our front line safe. MGCS has stepped up as a central procurement body to secure a stable and reliable supply of personal protective equipment and other critical supplies for Broader Public Sector organizations such as school boards across the province. We have launched Supply Ontario to carry this work forward in the years to come.

The ministry has met the sudden and massive need for online services by helping ministries set up new web services to help the government get critical pandemic-related information, support grants, and vaccine and other appointment booking platforms to the public and reduce the need for face-to-face contact. The ministry has also provided equipment and IT support that enabled tens of thousands of Ontario Public Service workers to transition successfully to remote work.

We have kept the doors of ServiceOntario open for Ontarians that required in-person services and have offered more than 40 of the most common transactions online, 24/7/365. ServiceOntario experts have been leveraged to support ministries with call centres to help customers get important information about regular and pandemic-related services.

Our Consumer Services arm continues to protect people from unfair business practices like price gouging and has supported our many administrative authorities in adapting to better serve their registrants across a fast-changing marketplace. We also adjusted business regulations to help companies maintain their reporting duties to shareholders virtually, supporting public health guidelines on social distancing.

Ministry Programs

Ontario Shared Services

Ontario Shared Services provides centralized internal services for all ministries, employees, select agencies and select Broader Public Sector entities. The program enables efficient and effective delivery of the government’s core internal businesses, including whole-of-government procurement, financial processing, transfer payment processing and administration, human resources, pay and benefits, and enterprise business services through multiple channels, including digital. The program is also responsible for providing overall direction and transfer payment accountability for Supply Ontario, a new centralized procurement agency that is enabling a whole-of-government approach to purchasing goods and services.

COVID‑19 response

MGCS has coordinated the province’s COVID‑19 related procurements and supply chain management for non-health sector entities, including ministries, municipalities, the Broader Public Sector and government agencies.

Ontario Shared Services has played an essential role as part of the government’s COVID‑19 pandemic response, and internally redeployed staff to enable this work. Ontario Shared Services continues to work closely with partner ministries and stakeholders to ensure the continued delivery of key businesses and services.

Specific steps taken to support the public sector supply chain include:

• Launching the Ontario Together portal to connect government with businesses and individuals who have emergency supplies, ideas and innovations to support the COVID‑19 response.
• Developing a virtual inventory to support decision-making processes for the procurement as well as allocation and distribution of critical supplies.
• Procuring emergency supplies, including personal protective equipment and other critical supplies and equipment.
• Managing the warehousing and distribution of personal protective equipment procured by the province.
• Beginning to stand up Supply Ontario.

Ontario Shared Services also plays an essential role in supporting the successful delivery of over 25 COVID‑19 pandemic response initiatives such as:

• Supporting small businesses through the Ontario Small Business Support Grant (led by the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade and the Ministry of Finance), the Safe Restart Agreement (led by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Ministry of Education), the Property Tax Rebate Program (led by the Ministry of Finance) and the Energy Costs Rebate Program (led by the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines).
• Supporting frontline workers through the Main Street Personal Protective Equipment Program (led by the Ministry of Economic Development Job Creation and Trade), the Personal Support Worker Program (led by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services), as well as the critical delivery of more than $200 million in temporary pandemic pay to eligible frontline workers.
• Supporting COVID‑19 response programs, such as the Residential Relief Fund (led by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services), the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative Social Services Relief Fund and the Indigenous Support Housing Program Social Services Relief Program (led by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing) for Indigenous communities and organizations, seniors, childcare centres, municipalities, research initiatives, residential service providers and small businesses.
• Enabling delivery of the Ministry of Education’s Support for Families and Support for Learners programs and introducing bulk e-Transfer as an alternative payment option to Ontarians, resulting in 1.3 million payment transactions to Support for Learners program recipients.
• Implementing changes to the Integrated Financial Information System to suspend six months of interest charges for defaulted loans for the Ontario Student Assistance Program.
• Providing pandemic pay to identified groups of frontline Ontario Public Service employees.

In addition, Ontario Shared Services ensured the continued delivery of key businesses and services, including:

• Helping ministries meet their obligations under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act.
• Collaborating with Treasury Board Secretariat to provide timely and seamless financial processing to ministries.
• Processing pay and benefits for approximately 66,000 Ontario Public Service employees.
• Delivering print, mass mail insertion and end-to-end mail delivery, courier, cartage and other services to ministries, agencies, boards and commissions to ensure the continuation of essential government programs and services.
• Maintaining the delivery of public facing services, such as official document services, while instituting appropriate physical distancing measures.
• Contributing to the development of rapid deployment options, assessment criteria and the screening and selection processes for long-term care staffing in collaboration with Ontario Health, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Long-Term Care. On behalf of long-term care homes, the ministry has conducted screening and preliminary interviews of applicants via the Health Workforce Matching Portal in the spring of 2020.

Enterprise Information Technology Services Program

The Enterprise Information Technology Services program provides strategic leadership in the use of information and information technology (I&IT) to modernize Ontario’s public services and meet the changing needs of Ontarians and the Ontario Public Service, agencies and the Broader Public Sector. This includes an enterprise technology roadmap to realize the benefits of strategically-managed technology, products and services, as well as coordinate technology investments across ministries.

These plans will transform public service delivery, provide user-centred digital solutions and better value for taxpayer dollars.

The program ensures the ongoing security of systems and data, the implementation of common infrastructure, governance and accountability, the development and maintenance of Ontario Public Service IT operating policies, technical standards, guidelines and delivery of Ontario Public Service-wide common services such as hosting services, service management and network capabilities.

Major functions include:

• Providing more user-friendly technology choices.
• Delivering, managing and procuring IT systems that help ministries work together.
• Delivering security advice, education and awareness services that improves public services.
• Developing and implementing enterprise-wide I&IT strategies, programs and projects to manage I&IT initiatives in support of government priorities.

COVID‑19 response

MGCS played a critical role in enabling delivery of IT business solutions for government programs and new digital services to Ontarians, while expanding remote work capabilities for the Ontario Public Service. This included:

• Enabling remote work tools and services to staff across the Ontario Public Service that deliver time critical services:
  • Quickly increasing capacity for 30,000 Ontario Public Service employees to work remotely, up from 12,000.
  • Expediting orders for critical technology to enable remote work including 11,000 mobile phones and 7,000 laptop computers.
  • Enabling security on Ontario Public Service laptops while not connected to the Ontario Public Service network (approximately 40,000 laptops).

• Supporting pandemic-related contact centres with technology support (e.g., Ontario Together portal, vaccine booking and information lines).
• Improving support for vaccination clinics through Public Health Services Service Desk.
• Partnering with ministries to enable new digital services across government for citizens:
  • Ontario 511 online app to all drivers, with new winter driving features when travelling on provincial highways.
  • e-Intake, a new digital platform to accelerate and simplify the way criminal charges are filed.
  • Through virtual courts, 400 new types of civil and family documents can now be submitted online.
  • Secure messaging and electronic documents with Social Assistance caseworkers, avoiding in-person visits or faxing documents to government offices.
  • All Class G and M drivers can renew their driver’s licences online at ServiceOntario.ca.
  • A new virtual assistant tool that allows health care workers to quickly and securely connect with people who test positive for COVID‑19 in Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Waterloo and York. The system will soon be available province-wide.
  • Ambulance dispatch and online court hearing processes that were enabled by MGCS’ cloud service.

• Enhancing coordination for the Broader Public Sector through discussions on cyber risk, sharing cyber awareness materials keeping the Broader Public Sector up-to-date on the latest cyber security news at the Cyber Security Community of Practice.
• Leading Community of Practice calls during the early months of the COVID‑19 pandemic:
  • Issued warnings about COVID‑19 phishing scams and how to spot them.
  • Multiple “Ask Me Anything” sessions to answer Ontario Public Service staff questions on how to work remotely safely and to give tips and advice on how to be cyber savvy during COVID‑19.
  • Provided advice and educational material to the Ontario Provincial Police as part of the Cyber Security Training and Preparedness package for COVID‑19 vaccination sites.
• Providing risk advisory services, secure design and policy advice for 57 COVID‑19 related solutions from across the Ontario Public Service.
• Working around-the-clock to complete testing to ensure the timely launch of 17 public-facing COVID‑19-related websites.
• Providing support to the Broader Public Sector to ensure business continuity, timely response and recovery by sharing advice and raising awareness of potential impacts caused by cyber security threats or incidents through the delivery of five COVID‑19 threat advisories.
• Strengthening employees’ cyber security vigilance through education and a COVID‑19 phishing campaign.

Government Infrastructure Projects

Government Infrastructure Projects is responsible for managing the government's General Real Estate Portfolio. This is done through developing policy, legislation and program delivery. The program oversees the real estate management activities of the Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation (Infrastructure Ontario), to implement real estate strategies, portfolio planning, acquisition and disposal of surplus properties and capital planning. The ministry's Contaminated Sites Plan, the Forfeited Corporate Property Program and the Transmission Corridor Program are managed by this program.

It is also responsible for optimizing the province's office real estate and driving workplace transformation to reduce cost and improve effectiveness of the workforce for government, agencies and the Broader Public Sector. It achieves this through better management of realty assets and service delivery, by eliminating costly third party leased office space and re-shaping how and where the Ontario Public Service works to deliver the best outcomes and services for Ontarians. Major realty projects are delivered through this program, including the Macdonald Block reconstruction and Whitney Block rehabilitation.

The ministry continues to lead and implement the government’s policy direction for one of the largest public sector real estate portfolios in Canada:

• The General Real Estate Portfolio contains 4,476 buildings and approximately 153,000 acres of land directly managed by Infrastructure Ontario. In order to manage its realty assets in the most efficient and effective manner, the ministry is focusing on a long-term strategy that will emphasize the management, redeployment and sale or transfer of properties that are no longer needed for program use.
• Under the Forfeited Corporate Property Act, 2015, the ministry works to return properties that the Crown receives from dissolved corporations back to productive use. Returning properties to productive use protects the Province from any risks or liabilities associated with forfeited corporate properties.
• The Transmission Corridor Program oversees approximately 42,000 acres of hydro corridor land. By facilitating public access and use of these corridor lands, the ministry generates revenue through secondary land use in accordance with public use principles.
• Together with Infrastructure Ontario, MGCS provides expert real estate advice and services to the Ontario Public Service and Broader Public Sector.

Major realty projects are delivered through this program, including the Macdonald Block Reconstruction Project and Whitney Block Rehabilitation Project. By adopting approaches such as more flexible and collaborative workspaces and by using technology to enable remote work arrangements for staff, the reconstructed Macdonald Block Complex will make better use of space. This reduced footprint of lease holdings will help drive efficiencies by eliminating the need for 586,000 square feet of rented office space and lowering costs to the Ontario taxpayer.

COVID‑19 response

The ministry is coordinating with the rest of the Ontario Public Service to address real estate challenges and opportunities as part of the COVID‑19 response. The ministry enhanced cleaning of properties in the government’s General Real Estate Portfolio to ensure the safety of the people working in or visiting public buildings. In addition, work on government infrastructure projects has continued with careful management to ensure sites meet health and safety work environment guidelines.

Information, Privacy and Archives

The Information, Privacy and Archives program is responsible for providing enterprise strategic leadership for recordkeeping, access to information and privacy protection for the Ontario Public Service, agencies and parts of the Broader Public Sector. It oversees the operation and delivery of public services offered by the Archives of Ontario (the largest provincial archives in Canada). This includes collecting, preserving, managing and making accessible government and private records of provincial and historical significance. It also ensures ongoing improvements to access, protection and use of government information through service modernization and digital enhancements.

COVID‑19 response

• Launched online initiatives to replace the in-person services (the reading room, tour program, classroom exhibition space and other facilities at 134 Ian MacDonald Boulevard) which needed to close. These include virtual tours, new web-based education resources and a new GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) Wiki page which showcases five archival collections and has proven to be popular.
• Through remote access and virtual channels, the Information, Privacy and Archives program continues to:
  • Deliver enterprise strategic leadership for recordkeeping, access to information, privacy protection and policy advice and guidance to ministries, agencies and parts of the Broader Public Sector;
  • Provide targeted recordkeeping, access and privacy advice to support staff working from home to ensure that information shared and/or created is managed in accordance with legislative and corporate privacy, access and recordkeeping requirements;
  • Offer online collections, resources and services to the public through the Archives of Ontario website, by telephone and email. Staff are also available to process critical legal and/or humanitarian requests;
  • Provide time-critical support to the Ministry of the Attorney General, Court Services Division in order to process legal and humanitarian requests within prescribed requirements; and
  • Enable the Freedom of Information eRequest Form that allows a request and application fee to be submitted online for all ministries and public use.

ServiceOntario

ServiceOntario is the gateway to government services for individuals and businesses. It offers health card, driver and vehicle services, outdoor licensing (hunting, fishing), vital events, land and personal property registry and business registration services. It helps Ontarians through multiple channels including in-person, phone, mail and online. ServiceOntario provides Ontarians with fast, friendly and easy access to a range of government services and information. This includes giving Ontarians choice in how they interact with government – at one of the 281 in-person locations across the province or through other service channels, including online with access to more than 40 services, 24/7/365 from the comfort of home.

COVID‑19 response

• Implementing public health protocols including installing plexiglass at public retail, land registry and back offices, screening, enhanced cleaning measures and personal protective equipment requirements allowing most government-operated offices to remain open.
• Improving online services to help customers get what they need from the safety of their home including:
  • Extending the validity of accessible parking permits through an emergency regulation.
  • Supporting partner ministries to ensure products such as health cards, driver and vehicle products, etc. that expired on or after March 1, 2020, have an extended expiry date until it is considered safe to accommodate increased face to face (or in-person) transactions and the extension of the expiry date is revoked.
  • Providing customers with a printable receipt for use until their new driver’s licence and licence plate sticker have been received.
  • Implementing online appointment booking at high-volume offices to reduce wait times for customers and promote health and safety by limiting line-ups
  • Collaborating with the Ministry of Transportation and the Treasury Board Secretariat (Ontario Digital Service) to streamline the licence plate sticker process. This has reduced the turnaround time for customers to receive their stickers and an additional 6,300 licence plate sticker renewals can be processed online, for a total of 12,600 transactions that can be completed daily.
  • Collaborating with the Office of the Chief Coroner, Ministry of the Solicitor General and Ministry of Health to enable the electronic transmission of death registration documents to facilitate an electronic Medical Certificate of Death and Warrant to Bury.
    • This allows coroners to complete and submit these forms to funeral homes remotely to expedite the issuance of burial permits, as well as physicians and nurse practitioners working in palliative care outside hospitals. Electronic signatures were also permitted in order to receive death registration documents in a more timely manner.
  • Introducing changes to the marriage licence application form and creating process improvements for municipalities to facilitate digital processing of marriage licence applications, minimizing in-person contact between municipal staff and couples purchasing marriage licences.
  • Introducing changes to MGCS Business Law statutes to permit copies of documents, electronic signatures and the electronic filing of business documents which will significantly reduce the number of physical touchpoints on paper documents.
• Amending the Marriage Act to extend the validity of marriage licences impacted by province-wide declarations of emergency, and enhancing the marriage licence application form to allow couples to electronically sign, save and submit to the municipality.
• Amending the Vital Statistics Act to enable the electronic transmission of death registration documents. The Ministry is improving the timeliness of Ontario’s death registration data, and, as of July 2020, began releasing 2019 and 2020 preliminary death registration data on a quarterly basis on the Open Government catalogue.
• Enabling the implementation of virtual/digital tribunal hearings under the Boundaries Act in order for participants to maintain physical distancing during the process while fully participating in all aspects of the hearing.
• Setting up public-facing contact centres, including the Stop the Spread Information Line, Ontario Together program and most recently the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre, while also delivering services for key programs such as Support for Families, Telehealth (temporarily addressing the backlog of 5,000 voicemails and call backs), the Main Street Grant Program, the Small Business Grant Program, and more.
• Setting up public-facing contact centres, including the Stop the Spread Information Line, Ontario Together program and most recently the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre, while also delivering services for key programs such as Support for Families, Telehealth (temporarily addressing the backlog of 5,000 voicemails and call backs), the Main Street Grant Program, the Small Business Grant Program, and more.

Consumer Services

Consumer Services is dedicated to policies, programs and services that respond to the needs of the people and businesses of Ontario. As a modern regulator, Consumer Services is committed to consumer protection, implements policy on a wide range of consumer and public safety issues, and supports business law renewal in Ontario.

Through the Consumer Services program, MGCS plays an important role informing consumers about their rights and protections under the ministry’s various consumer protection and public safety statutes and regulations, including the Consumer Protection Act. The ministry is a recognized, trusted and knowledgeable resource for consumers and businesses providing them with essential tools and information. It plays a leadership role in supporting a fair, safe and informed marketplace.

Direct services to the public include educating consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities, mediating consumer complaints and protecting the consumer interest through proportionate and risk-based compliance and enforcement action against non-compliant businesses.

The ministry regulates and licences businesses in several key sectors, including payday loans, collection agencies and consumer reporting agencies. It also oversees 11 arms length administrative authorities and one statutory corporation in the areas of consumer protection and public safety.

MGCS also administers the burial site provisions of the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, which set out a process for dealing with human remains found outside cemeteries, including those of Indigenous persons, with dignity and respect.

COVID‑19 response

The Consumer Services program continues providing services to the public through its Consumer Protection Ontario contact centre and supporting the development of emergency orders (such as the order prohibiting unconscionable pricing on necessary goods during COVID‑19) and/or legislative changes.

The Consumer Services program continues providing services to the public through its Consumer Protection Ontario contact centre and supporting the development of emergency orders (such as the order prohibiting unconscionable pricing on necessary goods during COVID‑19) and/or legislative changes.

This includes amendments made to the Payday Loans Act to help protect the province’s most vulnerable consumers. Effective August 20, 2020, the maximum interest rate that may be charged on payday loans in default is limited to 2.5 per cent per month and the maximum fee that payday lenders can charge for dishonoured payments is $25. These changes will provide relief for some borrowers who may be unable to repay their loans on time.

Since the beginning of the COVID‑19 outbreak to December 31, 2020, the Consumer Protection Ontario 800-line call centre received over 25,000 calls.

As of December 31, 2020, Consumer Protection Ontario has received just over 30,000 complaints under the Emergency Order prohibiting price gouging through an online form that went live on March 28, 2020. The ministry has also provided advice and assistance to consumers regarding consumer transactions that could not be completed because of the pandemic.

In December 2020, Consumer Services assumed responsibility for the enforcement of the Supporting Local Restaurants Act, which protects restaurants by capping the commission that can be charged by food delivery service companies. It also prohibits food delivery companies from reducing the compensation paid to food delivery persons to make up for any reduction in their commissions.

To help corporations, the ministry developed temporary legislative amendments to key corporate statutes including the Business Corporations Act; Corporations Act; Condominium Act; and Co-Operative Corporations Act. The amendments helped businesses conduct corporate meetings virtually when in-person meetings were no longer a possibility. They also allowed corporations to temporarily postpone annual meetings during the emergency period.

The ministry funded the Travel Industry Council of Ontario to help it waive registration renewal fees for agents and wholesalers and Travel Industry Compensation Fund payments owed between April 2020 and March 2021. This is intended to help support the travel agent and wholesaler sector during this financially difficult time. The ministry is providing subsequent funding in 2021-22 in order to enable TICO to continue its operations, and temporarily waive registration renewal fees and Travel Industry Compensation Fund payments for the April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 period.

The ministry also developed amendments to the regulation under the Travel Industry Act, which took effect on December 1, 2020 to further reduce burden on travel agents and wholesalers (registrants) and help travellers impacted by the COVID‑19 pandemic.

On October 21, 2020, the ministry executed a transfer payment agreement with the Bereavement Authority of Ontario to provide funding to enable them to provide a one-year licence renewal fee waiver to its licensees in the 2020-21 fiscal year. The support is intended to recognize the important contribution that licensed bereavement service providers continue to make under these challenging circumstances.

The ministry is supporting the amusement park and ski sectors by providing financial relief to the Technical Standards and Safety Authority and the Electrical Safety Authority by waiving oversight payments. Technical Standards and Safety Authority and Electrical Safety Authority are then using these funds to waive licensing payments from amusement park and ski businesses and providing them with financial relief from being unable to operate due to COVID‑19.

The ministry also issued a Minister’s Order giving the Technical Standards and Safety Authority the authority to provide safety related inspection, enforcement and administrative services to the provincial government or any of its agencies, boards, commissions or administrative authorities. This change enabled the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development to contract the Technical Standards and Safety Authority to help address COVID‑19 related complaints and providing education and outreach to raise awareness and enforcement of emergency orders under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act.

Government Services Integration Cluster

The Government Services Integration Cluster provides strategic advice and cost-effective technology solutions for the Ministries of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Seniors and Accessibility, Government and Consumer Services, Infrastructure, and Francophone Affairs. It delivers the information technology necessary for its partner ministries and agencies to operate, modernize, and transform the delivery of services to the public, businesses and employees. The cluster also has accountability for the Enterprise Contact Centre Solution, as a mandatory central common service, which enables over 40 programs across government to deliver contact centre services via phone, email and online chat.

COVID‑19 response

In response to COVID‑19, the Government Services Integration Cluster enabled many initiatives including:

• Delivering the Personal Protective Equipment Supplier Portal in six weeks. This system allows organizations to order personal protective equipment directly from the warehouse. It also enables suppliers to manage shipments and deliveries to the warehouse.
• Launching a high-volume platform for appointment booking for ServiceOntario locations in October 2020, with plans for continued expansion to multiple ServiceOntario locations. This capability will provide a telephone and online self-serve tool to Ontarians.
• Applying existing technology used in the Integrated Financial Information System to support COVID‑19 related programs such as Support for Families, Support for Learners, Ontario COVID‑19 Child Benefit, and Ontario Small Business Support Grant.
• Supporting the Ontario Together portal by building a cloud-based platform in partnership with Ontario Shared Services, Treasury Board Secretariat (Ontario Digital Service), Infrastructure Technology Services, Ministry of Economic Development Job Creation and Trade, Ministry of Health, Ontario Health and other partners.
• Helping to rapidly increase contact centre capacity within MGCS for programs such as Stop the Spread, Ontario Together Portal, Support for Learners, Support for Families, Telehealth, Consumer Protection Ontario-Price Gouging Line, Main Street Grant, Small Business Grant, Provincial Vaccine Information Line, Provincial Vaccine Booking Line and various others.
• Supporting the roll out of critical technology to enable remote work for over 2,100 OPS contact centre staff by prioritizing over 40 contact centres and supporting testing of the software to allow ministries to continue delivering services through the contact centre channel while also promoting safe work environments for the contact centre staff.
• Delivering critical changes for over 40 non-MGCS contact centres on short notice, including higher call-volumes and introducing both design and script changes to phone menus and related queues through the Central Common Enterprise Contact Centre Service.
• Launching the first ever ‘chatbot’ in the Ontario Public Service to help ServiceOntario answer driver and vehicle questions from the public online.

2021-22 Strategic Plan

MGCS is committed to helping the Ontario Public Service, Broader Public Sector and agency services be more accessible, reliable and convenient. Improving digital service delivery, protecting consumers and getting better value for the dollar is at the heart of the ministry's approach to get better results for the people of Ontario.

MGCS Primary Goals

MGCS has five primary goals to fulfill the ministry’s mandate and achieve government priorities. More details of specific accomplishments can be found in the 2020-21 Annual Report.

People and Culture: Fostering talent, leveraging our skills and knowledge, and assigning accountability to show quick, iterative progress on delivering commitments.

• Provide leadership and support to the public service in information management, recordkeeping, freedom of information and privacy protection. Through the Archives of Ontario, the ministry is responsible for making public government records accessible, and for collecting and preserving private records of provincial and historical significance.
• Foster an equitable workplace (prevent harassment and discrimination, enhance fair hiring and collect demographic information through a self-service tool).
• Regularly review, evaluate and optimize human resources services.
• Advance equity and remove barriers through the three-year Anti-Racism, Inclusion and Accessibility strategy, the Anti-Racism Roadmap, the Senior Leadership Diversification Targets and Diversity and Inclusion Scorecard.
• Improve mental wellbeing and developing resilience by promoting mental health awareness, understanding racial trauma and the importance of psychological safety in the workplace.
• Enable leading with authenticity and respect by working to cultivate, train and empower all our managers to efficiently lead with a people-first approach, interrupt bias in recruitment, hold courageous conversations, and create psychologically safe work environment.
• Deliver executive outreach programs that build connection and community by connecting staff to senior leadership and the leadership team with each other.

Driving Efficiencies: Making services and back office functions more efficient and driving cost savings to support a balanced budget for Ontario.

• Work with Infrastructure Ontario to improve the management of the General Real Estate Portfolio by lowering costs, generating revenue, optimizing office space and reducing red tape.
• Deliver critical services including pay and benefits, procurement and supply chain administration, transfer payment processing and administration, frontline human resources service delivery and financial processing.
• Continue to centralize supply chain across the Ontario Public Service and Broader Public Sector through the new Supply Ontario agency.
• Continue to enable government-wide transfer payment modernization, with a specific focus on the human and social services sector in partnership with Treasury Board Secretariat and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.
• Implement the Centralization of Collections initiative to centralize, streamline and automate debt collection activities by integrating the Integrated Financial Information System into the Ministry of Finance’s OntTax system in partnership with the Ministry of Finance.
• Deliver a solution that will enable managers to submit and monitor progress on requests for position changes. This solution will enable processing requests in a timelier manner, drive back-office efficiencies and significantly improve data collection of information required for position changes.
• Use Robotic Process Automation and Machine Learning solutions to increase efficiencies and streamline back office processing such as invoice submission and processing, and Central Agency Cluster Purchase Order Requisition Automation. MGCS is the first ministry using this technology to lower the cost of service delivery.

Service Delivery Excellence: Driving operational excellence and continuous improvement in service delivery, and transforming and streamlining delivery models across government with private sector partners.

• Through the Contact Centre Modernization Initiative, multiple lean assessments are being performed with ServiceOntario and other contact centre programs to identify areas of improvement such as updating online content, introducing new digital capabilities to support self-serve options (e.g., chatbots) and update phone menu design and messaging.
• MGCS is planning improvements to the email reminder service for driver licences, vehicle plate stickers and health cards. This may include additional options such as SMS/text and voice.
• ServiceOntario continues to deliver information and high-volume transactions while making it easier for individuals and businesses to access services. Improvements to services address key issues such as language changes, user experience design, improved usability and legislation/regulation changes.
• ServiceOntario is also exploring ways to make it easier for businesses to work with government when accessing the information and services they need by implementing a single window for businesses using innovative digital solutions to provide relevant information.

Digital Transformation: Transforming through a digital first - but not only - approach to lower the cost of delivery and make services simpler, faster and better for people, businesses and Ontario Public Service employees.

• MGCS continues to enable a modern digital workplace by driving Ontario Public Service-wide adoption of new productivity, communication and collaboration tools to ensure Ontario Public Service employees have the knowledge and tools they need to do their best work.
• The ministry is co-leading the effort to modernize and digitize fax services a new paperless initiative in the Ontario Public Service, implementing strategies to lay the foundation for a Cloud based future, and partnering with ministries to explore opportunities to address the challenge of obtaining accessible, affordable broadband services for underserved and vulnerable populations.
• MGCS is adopting a new framework, co-created with the Treasury Board Secretariat (Ontario Digital Service), to provide guidance and standards for implementing web chat functionality.
• The ministry is implementing services to continue providing secure digital interactions with citizens and businesses as part of the Ontario Public Service Cyber Security Strategy. The ministry is currently piloting modern technology to help the government interact more effectively, efficiently and securely.
• The Information, Privacy and Archives Division is committed to bringing Ontarians the best-in-class privacy and security protections. This includes providing advice on privacy and access to information.

Supporting Businesses: Simplifying Ontario’s regulatory framework and reducing the administrative burden on businesses to make it easier to engage with all of government.

• Implementing the Rebuilding Consumer Confidence strategy continues to transform many key regulatory frameworks including the Travel Industry Act; Condominium Act; and Consumer Reporting Act; and undertaking a comprehensive review of the Consumer Protection Act – the first such review in over 15 years.
• Overhauling Ontario’s new home warranty program by creating two separate authorities: one to oversee builder/vendors; and the other to administer new home warranties. Improvements to the warranty program have already started and will continue over the next few years. The Home Construction Regulatory Authority launched operations in February 2021 as the new regulator of new home builders and vendors in Ontario.
• Reducing burden on business to improve Ontario’s competitive advantage: the ministry continues to support the government’s commitment to improving the province’s business law framework to meet the changing needs of business. The ministry led several amendments to modernize its business law statutes and is actively reviewing other key business law improvements.

Key Performance Indicators

MGCS has several important key performance indicators that it uses to measure ministry priorities, such as customer satisfaction rates and service standards / guarantees. Monitoring customer satisfaction rates is important because it helps us determine customer satisfaction with the level of service we provide while service standards/guarantees tell us whether we are meeting our commitment to clients to provide timely services.

Ontario Shared Services

Enterprise Information Technology Services Program

Information, Privacy and Archives

ServiceOntario

Key ServiceOntario service standards measure the percentage of transactions delivered within established timeframes and the effectiveness of service delivery processes. ServiceOntario met or exceeded most of its service standards in 2020-21. The table below shows the total number of services with a standard and what per cent of those services achieved its target. The total of 53 includes the 8 services that also have a money-back service guarantee.

Fiscal 2020-21

ServiceOntario is accountable for eight money-back service guarantees including online birth, marriage and death certificates; premium online birth, marriage and death certificates; electronic master business licences and online personalized licence plate orders. Note from March 2020 onwards, personalized licence plate service guarantee has been suspended due to operational impacts caused by COVID‑19; service standard achievement results are not included.

ServiceOntario’s money-back service guarantees were met on average, 99.9 per cent of the time between April 2018 and March 2021. The goal for 2021-22 is to maintain a service standard achievement rate above 99 per cent through strict process control and continuous improvement.

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Detailed Financial Information

Table 2: Combined Operating and Capital Summary by Vote

For additional financial information, see:

• expenditure estimates
• public accounts of Ontario 2019-2020
• 2021 Ontario budget

Agencies, boards and commissions (ABCs)

Supply Ontario was established in 2020 under O. Reg 612/20 of the Supply Chain Management Act (Government, Broader Public Sector and Health Sector Entities), 2019 to accelerate Ontario government efforts to centralize and transform public sector supply chains and drive greater value for Ontarians by leveraging Ontario’s consolidated buying power. Supply Ontario will create an integrated supply chain for the Ontario Public Service and the Broader Public Sector, ensuring consistent access to high quality products and services.

COVID‑19 Response

Supply Ontario will contribute to the government’s response to the COVID‑19 pandemic by prioritizing the transition of end to end accountability and management of supply chain activities for certain personal protective equipment from MGCS and the Ministry of Health.

Financial summary

Administrative authorities

The ministry’s administrative authorities are governed by several pieces of legislation. The Safety and Consumer Statutes Administration Act provides a framework for the delegation of the administration of legislation with respect to electrical safety; regulation of motor vehicle dealers and salespersons; travel sales by travel agents and wholesalers; exhibitors and retailers; regulation of certain bereavement services (i.e., funeral, cemetery, crematorium and transfer services); as well as the regulation of real estate salespersons, brokers and brokerages.

There are also individual statutes that apply an administrative authority’s oversight framework to technical safety standards, new home warranties, condominium management, the condominium sector and appellations of Ontario-made wine.

Individual statutes and the Safety and Consumer Statutes Administration Act establish the accountability and governance framework that applies between the ministry and the not-for-profit corporations that administer legislation in specific consumer protection or public safety areas.

The ministry monitors administrative authorities’ service delivery and is responsible for the legislation and regulations. The administrative authorities typically deliver services such as licensing, inspections, complaint handling and enforcement. As part of the Rebuilding Consumer Confidence Act, which was passed in July 2020, the ministry made improvements to the governance frameworks of the administrative authorities and drove consistency between the individual statutes and the Safety and Consumer Statutes Administration Act. Some aspects of the amendments were in force upon Royal Assent and others await proclamation.

The Bereavement Authority of Ontario administers most provisions under the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act. The Bereavement Authority of Ontario is responsible for licensing and regulating (e.g., conducting inspections and investigations) related to operators of cemeteries, crematoriums and transfer services; salespersons for those operators; funeral directors; funeral establishment operators; and funeral preplanners. The Bereavement Authority of Ontario is also responsible for the management of a Funeral Services Compensation Fund that compensates persons who suffer a financial loss due to a failure on the part of certain licensees under the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act to comply with that Act, its regulations, or the terms of an agreement made under that act.

The Condominium Authority of Ontario is responsible for administering delegated provisions under the Condominium Act. The Condominium Authority of Ontario provides easy-to-use information to help owners and residents understand their rights and responsibilities, mandatory training for condo directors, resources to help condo owners and residents resolve common issues associated with condo living and provides a public database of key information about every condominium in Ontario. In addition, the Condominium Authority of Ontario oversees and operates the Condominium Authority Tribunal, a unique online dispute resolution system to help resolve prescribed disputes under the Condominium Act.

The Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario administers the Condominium Management Services Act. This includes administering licensing for all condo managers and condo management providers, maintaining a list of all licensees in the province, dealing with complaints, administering the discipline committee and appeals committee and enforcement.

The Electrical Safety Authority is responsible for administering laws related to the Ontario Electrical Safety Code, the licensing of electrical contractors and master electricians, electricity distribution system safety and electrical product safety.

The Home Construction Regulatory Authority is responsible for the mandatory licensing and regulation of new home builders and vendors under the New Home Construction Licensing Act. It also maintains the Ontario Builder Directory, providing consumer with information about licensed new home builders and vendors.

The Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council administers the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act and the Motor Vehicle Dealers Compensation Fund which is a fund for consumers who have lost money involving a registered motor vehicle dealer. The Council registers motor vehicle dealers and salespersons and conducts inspections and investigations to ensure compliance with the act.

The Real Estate Council of Ontario administers the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act which regulates the conduct of real estate and business brokerages, brokers and salespersons. The Real Estate Council of Ontario registers salespersons, brokers and brokerages, enforces standards to obtain/maintain registration, requires brokers and salespersons to meet educational standards, conducts inspections of brokerage offices to ensure compliance with the Act, looks into complaints and carries out enforcement action with respect to violations of the Act.

The Tarion Warranty Corporation administers the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act, which provides warranty coverage and other protections to new home buyers and owners. Tarion enrols new homes for warranty coverage, resolves warranty disputes between builders/vendors and homeowners, maintains a Guarantee Fund that provides for the payment of compensation under the plan, informs and educates new home builders, and through research programs, promotes progressive improvement in the quality of housing in Ontario.

The Technical Standards and Safety Authority administers the Technical Standards and Safety Act. This includes enforcement of public safety standards in industry sectors such as amusement devices, boilers and pressure vessels, elevating devices, natural gas, petroleum and propane fuels and equipment and operating engineers.

The Travel Industry Council of Ontario administers the Travel Industry Act. It registers travel agents and travel wholesalers, monitors their financial performance to identify financial risk, inspects their operations to ensure compliance with the Act and manages Ontario’s Travel Industry Compensation Fund. Customers with eligible claims for travel services paid, to or through a registered travel agent, but not provided, may be reimbursed from the Fund up to certain amounts.

The Vintners Quality Alliance Ontario is responsible for administering an appellation of origin system governing the production and quality standards of Ontario wines under the Vintners Quality Alliance label.

Statutory corporation

The ministry oversees one not-for-profit statutory corporation. Ontario One Call (also known as One Call, administers the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act. The Act requires owners of underground infrastructure to be members of One Call and to provide the location of the infrastructure to excavators when requested. One Call operates a locate request routing service and enforces compliance by its members, which include gas, electrical and telecommunications utilities and municipalities.

One Call has a voluntary accountability relationship with the ministry through a Memorandum of Understanding.

Ministry organization chart

• Minister of Government and Consumer Services – Hon. Lisa M. Thompson
  • Deputy Minister of Government and Consumer Services – Karen Hughes
    • Director: Legal – Fateh Salim
    • Director: Communications – Jennifer Proulx
    • Director: Operations – Justin Peffer
    • ADM Ontario Shared Services  – Kristen Delorme (A)
      • ADM HR Service Delivery Division – TraceyvMcConnell (A)
      • ADM Pay and Benefits Services – Bev Hawton
      • ADM Enterprise Business Services Division – Jim Cassimatis (A)
      • ADM Supply Chain Ontario – Doug Kent
      • ADM Enterprise Financial Services – Noah Morris
    • ADM Supply Chain Transformation Office – Nadia Cornacchia (A)
    • Corporate CIO and Government Information Technology – Dafna Carr
      • CIO Infrastructure Technology Services – Mohammad Qureshi
      • Chief Information Security Officer Cyber Security – John Roberts (A)
      • Chief Technology Officer Enterprise Technology Strategy– Robin Thompson
      • Chief Technology Officer Enterprise Technology Delivery – Scott Bolton
    • ADM Realty – Bruce Singbush
    • ADM Office Optimization – David Breezer
    • CPO and Archivist of Ontario Information, Privacy and Archives – John Roberts
    • CIO, Government Service Integration Cluster (GSIC) – Manish Agarwal
    • CAO and ADM Corporate Services – Shawn Lawson
    • ADM Consumer Services Operations – Barbara Duckitt (A)
    • ADM Policy Planning and Oversight – Michèle Sanborn
    • ADM: ServiceOntario - Susan Erwin
      • ADM Operational Support – Lillian Duda (A)
      • ADM Customer Care – Cameron Sinclair
      • ADM Central Services – Agatha Garcia-Wright

Acts administered by the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services

• Alternative Filing Methods for Business Act, 2020, S.O. 2020, c.  7, Sched. 1
• Apportionment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.23
• Archives and Recordkeeping Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 3S.O.4, Sched. A
• Arthur Wishart Act (Franchise Disclosure), 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 3
• Assignments and Preferences Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.33
• Bailiffs Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. B.2
• Boundaries Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. B.10
• Business Corporations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. B.16
• Business Names Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. B.17
• Business Regulation Reform Act, 1994, S.O. 1994, c. 32
• Change of Name Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.7
• Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.14
• Condominium Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 19
• Condominium Management Services Act, 2015, S.O. 2015, c. 28, Sched. 2
• Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. A
• Consumer Reporting Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.33
• Co-operative Corporations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.35
• Corporations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.38
• Corporations Information Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.39
• Discriminatory Business Practices Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. D.12
• Electricity Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 15, Sched. A, in respect of Parts VIII and IX.1
• Electronic Land Registration Services Act, 2010, S.O. 2010, c. 1, Sched. 6
• Electronic Registration Act (Ministry of Consumer and Business Services Statutes), 1991, S.O. 1991, c. 44
• Extra-Provincial Corporations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.27
• Factors Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.1
• Film Classification Act, 2005, S.O. 2005, c. 17 (to be repealed and replaced by Film Content Information Act, 2020 effective June 8, 2021)
• Financial Administration Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.12, in respect of section 1.0.19 and clause 38 (1) (a.3)
• Forfeited Corporate Property Act, 2015, S.O. 2015, c. 38, Sched. 7
• Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31
• Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 33
• Government Services and Service Providers Act (ServiceOntario), 2012, S.O. 2012, c. 8, Sched. 21 (not yet in force)
• Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, in respect of Part III
• Home Inspection Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c. 5, Sched. 1 (not yet in force)
• Horse Riding Safety Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 4
• Land Registration Reform Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.4
• Land Titles Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.5
• Limited Partnerships Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.16
• Marriage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.3
• Ministry of Consumer and Business Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.21
• Ministry of Government Services Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.25, except in respect of services provided by the Treasury Board Secretariat
• Ministry of Infrastructure Act, 2011, S.O. 2011, c. 9, Sched. 27, in respect of Government property, including acquisition, and in respect of clause 7(1)(e), clause 7(1)(g), and subsection 7(5), the administration of the Act is shared between the Minister of Government and Consumer Services and the Minister of Infrastructure
• Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.M.41
• Motor Vehicle Dealers Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. B
• Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.56
• New Home Construction Licensing Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c. 33, Sched. 1 (not yet in force)
• Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010, S.O. 2010, c. 15 (not yet in force)
• Official Notices Publication Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.3
• Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation Act, 2011, S.O. 2011, in respect of the Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation's powers and responsibilities regarding Government property, except subsection 4(1) 2.ii
• Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.31
• Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012, S.O. 2012, c. 4
• Partnerships Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.5
• Payday Loans Act, 2008, S.O. 2008, c. 9
• Personal Property Security Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.10
• Protection for Owners and Purchasers of New Homes Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c. 33, Sched. 2 (not in force)
• Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. C
• Registry Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. R.20
• Repair and Storage Liens Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. R.25
• Retail Business Holidays Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. R.30
• Safety and Consumer Statutes Administration Act, 1996, S.O. 1996, c. 19
• Securities Transfer Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 8
• Simpler, Faster, Better Services Act, 2019, S.O. 2019, c. 7, Sched. 56
• Skydome Act (Bus Parking), 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 8, Sched. K
• Supply Chain Management Act (Government, Broader Public Sector and Health Sector Entities), 2019, S.O. 2019, c. 15, Sched. 37
• Supporting Local Restaurants Act, 2020, S.O. 2020, c. 31 only in respect of Parts III, IV and V of the Act
• Technical Standards and Safety Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 16
• Ticket Sales Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c. 33, Sched. 3
• Travel Industry Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. D
• Vintners Quality Alliance Act, 1999, S.O. 1999, c. 3
• Vital Statistics Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. V.4
• Wine Content and Labelling Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 26, Sched. P

2020-21 Annual report

Highlights of 2020-21 results

MGCS is transforming services in a way that puts people at the centre of everything we do. MGCS is committed to helping the government fulfill its promise to find efficiencies and reduce burden for consumers.

Some of the ministry’s achievements include:

People and culture

• Treasury Board Secretariat, the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services and the Ministry of the Solicitor General (Anti-Racism Directorate) are leading a third-party review of inclusive workplace policies and programs in the Ontario Public Service to better address systemic employment barriers. This review includes all Ontario Human Rights Code grounds, with a focus on anti-racism (including anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism), transphobia and specific barriers for persons with disabilities.
• Provided access to a new mental health resource for all Ontario Public Service staff and their families – Abiliti-CBT, an internet based cognitive behavioural therapy program to assist those who are experiencing anxiety associated with the COVID‑19 pandemic or other factors.
• Created and launched a self-service page in the Workforce Information Network for employees to voluntarily provide demographic information including gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, Francophone identity, Indigenous identity, ethnic and cultural origin, race, and disability status to support the identification and removal of systemic employment barriers.
• In partnership with Mushkegowuk Council and Queen’s University Archives, the Archives of Ontario launched a revised online exhibit on the James Bay Treaty (Treaty no. 9, the only numbered treaty to which Ontario was signatory) in August 2020 on its website. The new exhibit incorporates Omushkegowuk perspectives on the treaty, shares recent archival developments that support these perspectives, and showcases the longstanding importance of the original written and verbal records to signatory communities and to the documentary heritage of Ontario. The exhibit also supports treaty education and awareness for all Ontarians and responds to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call for decolonization and reconciliation.
• Continued to lead a multi-year effort to modernize job evaluation plans and reflect current best practices of large public and private sector organizations.

Driving efficiencies

• Implemented the Corporate Employee File, which has achieved savings, reduced waste from printing and streamlined access to documents, while improving security and accountability.
• Reduced the amount of office space needed for file storage by implementing an electronic filing system and process.
• Accelerated the centralization of the Human and Social Services Transfer Payment programs, enabling the sector’s transformation.
• Added 192 programs to the Transfer Payment Ontario system and delivered $16.6 billion to recipients in 2020-21. The onboarding of programs to the Transfer Payment Ontario system and delivery of funding will reduce administrative burden and increase value for money for vital programs.
• Implemented new ways to reduce the use of costly paper cheques and increase the adoption of low-cost electronic fund transfers. This is part of a larger government initiative to reduce administrative costs and go digital first. Manual cheque production has decreased by 33 per cent compared to the previous year.
• Updated the Hyperion Financial Management system by leveraging the technology to streamline and automate the annual financial reporting process.
• Streamlined the Integrated Financial Information System supplier-customer registration process by combining five separate intake channels into a single online platform.
• Increased efficiencies and streamlined back office processing significantly through Robotic Process Automation and Machine Learning solutions, freeing up resource capacity to be re-allocated to other priorities.
• Automated the Purchase Order Requisition process successfully through Robotics Process Automation and Machine Leaning platform within the scheduled four months period.
• Continued to modernize the delivery of training for the Integrated Financial Information System by developing an additional 49 e-products in support of the system, bringing the total number of eLearning products available on the enterprise learning management system, LearnON to 244. These products are available to staff for financial management, transactions and reporting in every ministry across the Ontario Public Service, any day or time (24/7/365).
• Combined the Integrated Financial Information System with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services’ Debt Administration System to streamline debt administration for approximately 7,500 accounts by 2021-22.
• Continued to modernize the Ministry of Transportation’s Road User Safety Revenue Management System to provide detailed level transactional recording, reporting and product forecasting for the non-tax revenue driver and vehicle processing operations.
• Built a digitally-enabled government workplace allowing staff to work anytime, anywhere, on any government device, while leveraging modern, secure cloud-based connectivity methods and solutions.
• Helped enable technology to keep government moving while working remotely, such as OPSdocs eSignatures, Ontario Public Service Electronic Approvals as well as new paperless document-sharing solutions.
• Committed to the divestment of 327 properties by 2022, which are expected to generate between $105 million and $135 million in revenue, result in annual cost/liability reduction of almost $10 million and return approximately 14,600 acres to productive use. As of January 13, 2021, a total of 77 properties have been sold, generating over $112.5 million in net revenue and realizing approximately $2.7 million in annual property maintenance liability reduction.
• Returned 214 properties to productive use since April 2018, through the Forfeited Corporate Property program, bringing in $1.8 million in revenue. The program continues to work to reduce the number of forfeited corporate properties across the province.
• Reduced the province’s liability by approximately $40 million to date through the Contaminated Sites Program. The cleanup of contaminated sites protects the environment and reduces the liability to the province.
• Generated $20.2 million in revenue from secondary land use as of December 2020, through the Transmission Corridor Program. A total revenue of $48 million is forecasted for 2020-21. After deducting operating expenses, approximately $4.5 million is expected to be remitted to the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation to pay down the hydro stranded debt.
• Successfully completed Phase 1 of the Macdonald Block Reconstruction Project, which involved the relocation of ministry tenants from the Macdonald Block Complex to temporary office locations. The Project is now in Phase 2 and reconstruction is well underway. Reconstruction is expected to be substantially complete in Spring 2024 and eliminates the need for $400 million in deferred maintenance expenditures.
• Continued rehabilitation of the Whitney Block, one of Ontario’s oldest government buildings has completed Phase 11 (out of 20 Phases). Heritage restoration and building efficiency has been improved through the installation of energy efficient windows, updating heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and repairing the heritage exterior of the building.
• Continued work to implement the government’s budget commitment for a new office model for ministries, including the centralization of funding and decision-making. A prioritization framework was developed and implemented to guide investments based on opportunities to optimize the office portfolio, emergency repairs and health and safety needs, planned repairs and maintenance and ministry realty requests. Discussions continue to take place on further improvements to the framework.
• Made significant improvements to the back office online Licence Plate Sticker fulfilment process to support Ontarians in renewing their licence plate stickers on-line. These improvements have increased processing capacity by 100 per cent. Now an additional 6,300 licence plate sticker renewals can be processed on-line daily, offering Ontarians a faster choice to receive a service.

Service delivery excellence

• Delivered more than 50 million ServiceOntario interactions (transactions and information and referrals) through its network of centres, online, by phone and mail.
• Successfully procured sufficient supplies to support the safe re-opening and ongoing operation of over 4,800 schools and over 5,000 childcare facilities by leveraging our collective buying power in critical supplies and equipment and personal protective equipment marketplaces, and by introducing new domestic sources of supply to ensure a consistent, reliable supply chain.
• Authenticated more than 28,600 documents in the first three quarters of 2020-21, while continuing to meet service standards. Official Documents Services continues to uphold service delivery standards amid the COVID‑19 pandemic, with an average client satisfaction rating of 95 per cent.
• Enabled, in partnership with MAG, the appointment of paralegals as notary publics as part of Government Modernization of the Notaries Act. Since the launch, Official Document Services saw an increase of over 175 per cent of notary public applications processed under a newly revamped digital intake process, increasing access to legal services for Ontarians across the province.
• Managed $6.1 billion in payroll and benefits administration for approximately 66,000 Ontario government employees.
• Processed more than $4.0 billion worth of payments to over 1,400 third parties such as the Canada Revenue Agency, pension administrators, insurance carriers and bargaining agents.
• Launched the Ontario Public Service Centre for government employees, in which the IT Service Desk and Ontario Shared Services Contact Centre team joined to form a unified support team including a new centralized phone system with one number for both IT and Ontario Shared Services business services, accessible 24/7/365.
• Conducted consultations to explore opportunities to strengthen and modernize provincial and municipal access to information programs, ensure alignment to a digital-first government and reduce red tape for institutions in order to provide clients with faster and more consistent access to Ontario’s records.
• Launched the Freedom of Information eRequest Form in November 2020 that enables a request and application fee to be submitted online, resulting in over 690 eRequests received in less than three months.
• Improved the online Newborn Registration Service by providing parents with additional opportunities to review their child’s Statement of Live Birth to reduce errors prior to completing the registration.
• Introduced new regulations, effective March 1, 2021, that make it easier and less costly for parents to correct an error made in the spelling of their child’s name on their child’s birth registration.
• Expanded the authority for people who may solemnize a marriage in Ontario under the Marriage Act, giving couples more choices for officiants at their wedding.
• Completed the migration of more than 40 programs from older technologies to a modern contact centre platform, including the Military Hotline. The modern platform will also be used to implement more contact centre improvements that were announced in the Fall Economic Statement.
• Enforcement activity in 2020-21 was lower than normal as a result of public health measures introduced due to the COVID‑19 pandemic, including the closure of non-essential businesses and courts. Consequently, the ministry adapted its consumer protection measures to focus on completing existing inspections, along with carrying out investigations of consumer complaints using alternative methods to respect public health restrictions. The ministry did, however, conduct over 90 inspection visits in sectors that pose risks to consumers including payday loan, collection agencies, auto repair, and home construction, maintenance and renovations.
• Provided integrated services and advice to ministries, agencies, Broader Public Sector Broader Public Sector and the public to ensure that recordkeeping, access to information and protection of privacy activities are integrated and effective. This includes coordination and management of over 2,000 inquiries from Members of Provincial Parliament, institutions and municipalities. In addition, it included public inquiries on access and privacy and application of legislation such as Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
• Continued to deliver permits for the Ministry of Transportation’s QEW High-Occupancy Toll Lanes. In Fall 2020, the High-Occupancy Toll Lanes service received a total of 445 applications and an additional 446 existing permits were renewed.
• Provided support through ServiceOntario contact centres to launch several new lines of business including the Stop the Spread Information Line; Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre; Ministry of Education’s Support for Families initiative; the Ministry of Health’s COVID‑19 Self Assessment and Contact Plus tools; the Ontario Small Business Grant; and, the ServiceOntario Appointment Booking and Driver and Vehicle Chatbot. The Ontario Disability Support Program Line was also expanded.
• ServiceOntario continued to champion the Trillium Gift of Life. Just over 52,000 Ontarians were added to the Organ Donor Registry between April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.
• As of the end of December 2020, there were approximately 882,000 Health Card renewals and 837,000 Driver’s Licence renewals completed online since the online renewal application was launched in January 2018. In more than 619,000 cases, both the Health Card and Driver’s Licence were renewed at the same time.
• Continued implementing the enterprise-wide Ontario Public Service Cyber Security Strategy, to support the secure delivery of digital public services and digital transformation initiatives. This plan supports the Ontario Public Service’s cyber security risk assessment services, monitoring and incident response program, access management services, and education and awareness programs.
• The Cyber Security Centre of Excellence continued helping ministries and Broader Public Sector Broader Public Sector service delivery partners improve digital resilience with education and awareness activities, and cyber threat knowledge and intelligence sharing.
• Entered into a partnership with the Catalyst at Ryerson University to increase cyber security awareness in the Broader Public Sector. This collaboration provides ongoing support to the Broader Public Sector Broader Public Sector help them better deal with their cybersecurity. This will include seven learning modules by the end of this fiscal year at cybersecurityontario.ca.
• Established a Cyber Security Expert Panel to help modernize security across the Broader Public Sector Broader Public Sector and provide advice on addressing issues and risks. It will improve digital resilience, develop cutting-edge solutions to prevent cyber threats and provide recommendations to Broader Public Sector Broader Public Sector organizations.
• The Consumer Protection Ontario contact centre provided advice and assistance to consumers regarding a wide range of transactions, including transactions affected by the COVID‑19 pandemic. Between January 1 and December 31, 2020, the ministry:
  • Received 34,846 consumer complaints, incidents and inquiries;
  • Negotiated $551,430 in refunds to consumers via mediation;
  • Saved at least $97,117 for consumers via cancelled/rescinded contracts; and
  • Laid 157 charges under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 and 5 charges under the Provincial Offences Act.
• Improved accessible parking permit processes, increasing the number of permits issued by 200 per day.
• ServiceOntario launched new email services to make it easier for our customers to submit their corporate filings, business registrations and search requests in support of public health and safety protocols.
• Implemented a Point-of-Sale refund solution to ServiceOntario over-the-counter offices allowing eligible customers to receive a refund via credit or debit cards for unused licence plate validation regardless of original methods of payment along with elimination of the administrative fee for cheque refunds.

Digital transformation

• Expanded the Ontario Tenders Portal, a fully digital tendering portal, to include the full contract lifecycle, reducing the administrative burden on vendors doing business with Ontario.
• Continued to facilitate digital transformation across the Ontario Public Service with additional use of cloud storage. This is a key enabler to driving digital services for the citizens of Ontario.
• Developed Data Standards to help ministries derive insights into how government programs and services can be better delivered to Ontarians.
• Developed the Governance and Management of Information and Data Assets Directive, to maximize the value and use of government information by ensuring that it is managed as a strategic enterprise asset. This complements the renewed I&IT) Directive and a companion Digital and Data Directive.
• Completed a public consultation on privacy protection Through this, the program received a substantial response from approximately 150 organizations which represent various sectors across the province.
• Introduced a more digital-focused service model and discontinued its in-person and counter services at 53 land registry offices. With some exceptions, customers are able to access land registration transactions online.
• Improved online information about ServiceOntario centres by standardizing location data, providing easy to understand information about location’s hours and opening status and prioritizing links to available online services.
• Enabled the online renewals of expired licence plate stickers, providing the opportunity for approximately 1.5 million additional renewals to be completed online.
• The Archives of Ontario launched initiatives to facilitate discovery, access to and engagement with Ontario’s documentary heritage from anywhere, anytime, including:
  • Virtual orientations, tours, and webinars delivered in collaboration with Ontario Ancestors and the Quarter Century Club;
  • New online educational resources aligned with the Ontario curriculum on its website and Flickr to better support educator and student learning; and
  • A GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) Wiki page, making five archival collections available for use in the Wiki community, resulting in over 630,000 views in three months and strengthening connection and collaboration with other galleries, libraries, archives and museums.
• Undertook the procurement of a system to better manage and provide access to the archives’ collections (archives, library, art) and improve efficiency by removing duplication and integrating processes. It will enhance the customer experience; improve management and preservation of physical and digital holdings; and align to the government’s digital mindset.
• Reduced costs for businesses by eliminating the need for filing physical papers by adopting electronic chattel paper.
• Provided easier access to and usability of certain forms made under the Condominium Act.

Supporting businesses

• Improved data integrity and the service experience for businesses to ensure all Ontario government business-facing programs will be able to collect and use the Business Number to simplify government-to-business interactions.
• Continued to support partner ministries: the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines with testing and infrastructure upgrades to support transfer payments for a suite of priority programs to support over 100,000 small businesses during the pandemic.
• Continued work on the Multi-jurisdictional Registry Access Service, a system that allows jurisdictions to exchange data quickly and in a secure manner. This helps businesses seeking to operate in multiple jurisdictions.
• Passed the Rebuilding Consumer Confidence Act in July 2020 to help improve the Tarion new home warranty system, improve oversight over administrative authorities and make consumer protection laws more effective and efficient. On February 1, 2021, the Home Construction Regulatory Authority also opened its doors as the regulator of new home builders and vendors.
• Continued working with Tarion and the Home Construction Regulatory Authority to implement the recommendations of the 2019 Auditor General’s special report on Tarion. As of early 2021, 19 of the 32 recommendations have been fully implemented.
• On October 1, 2020, parts of the Trust in Real Estate Services Act came into force and several regulations were filed. These changes allow real estate professionals to incorporate and be paid through a personal real estate corporation, while maintaining strong consumer protection safeguards. Real estate professionals are also now able to use more recognized terms such as “real estate agent” and REALTOR® in their advertisements.
• In response to concerns from municipalities and other bereavement sector stakeholders about restrictions on the use of funds in cemetery care and maintenance funds or accounts under the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, the ministry consulted on potential regulatory changes and non-regulatory actions to help address the concerns that the ministry has heard. Regulatory changes were made in April 2021 to the rules for care and maintenance fund or accounts that will come into force on January 1, 2022.
• In February 2021, the ministry consulted with stakeholders on increasing price transparency as part of the ministry’s implementation of recommendations from the Auditor General’s 2020 audit of the Bereavement Authority of Ontario. In April 2021, regulatory changes were made to requirements related to licence display, price lists and the consumer information guide to reduce burden on business and improve transparency for consumers of bereavement services. These changes come into force on July 1, 2021
• Consulted on effective ways to regulate emerging alternative technologies such as alkaline hydrolysis and composting, for the disposal of human remains. The ministry brought stakeholders together to gather feedback and help determine whether there are any issues with the Bereavement Authority of Ontario’s standard terms and conditions for alkaline hydrolysis operator licences.
• As part of an ongoing process, the ministry reviews and updates business statutes to reduce burden on the sector, address current and/or emerging issues, and make Ontario a jurisdiction that is favourable for new incorporations. Support for this work is partially provided by the Business Law Modernization and Burden Reduction Council (the Council), which provides recommendations to the Minister to modernize Ontario’s corporate and commercial statutes while supporting businesses within the Province.
  • o This included changes to the Arthur Wishart Act (Franchise Disclosure), 2000 that are intended to reduce burden on the franchise sector. In addition, legislative amendments were passed that will eliminate the current Canadian director residency requirements and lower the threshold for shareholder approvals in certain circumstances under the Business Corporations Act. Steps were also taken to prepare for the implementation of the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010, positively impacting Ontario’s approximately 58,000 nonprofits and charities.
• Launched a consultation on December 1, 2020 with the people and businesses of Ontario to better understand how we can adapt the Consumer Protection Act to address changing technology and marketplace innovations and provide more clarity.
• Launched a consultation in January 2021 on potential proposals to establish new protections for users of high-cost alternative financial services like instalment loans, lines of credit and auto title loans, provided outside of traditional financial institutions like banks. The ministry is consulting with stakeholders and the public on ways to improve the regulation and availability of information around these high-cost services and protect vulnerable borrowers from potential harm.
• In response to an Auditor General recommendation, the ministry removed the agricultural exemption for boilers and pressure vessels to ensure the safety for all workers and visitors to greenhouses and maple syrup operations. Now, all boilers and pressure vessels of a certain size will be required to meet the same safety requirements as of July 1, 2021.
• From July to August 2020, consulted with stakeholders on proposed regulatory changes to enhance elevator safety and availability. Regulatory changes were approved in April 2021 and respond to the Justice Cunningham report on elevator availability and the Auditor General’s safety recommendations.
• Began planning an education session to correct information asymmetries between owners and contractors, while improving elevator availability. In the elevator availability report, Justice Cunningham found that there is a lack of public education for owners, which prevents them from advocating for balanced contract terms, effective maintenance and timely repair.
• Passed the Film Content Information Act to reduce costs and red tape to help businesses operate more efficiently in today’s competitive film industry while better reflecting current consumer behaviour in a growing digital marketplace.
• Made changes under the Technical Standards and Safety Act to enable greener, cleaner energy use by businesses that use refrigeration in commercial and industrial settings, and expansion of lower-carbon natural gas infrastructure. Alternate rules have been introduced that give them the flexibility they need to either comply with the province’s existing Operating Engineers regulation or pursue a more tailored path to meet their safety obligations.
• In December 2020, the Auditor General released a follow-up report on the Technical Standards and Safety Authority audit and found that significant progress has been made on implementing the recommendations to enhance safety, Technical Standards and Safety Authority operations and ministry oversight. To safely reduce burden on business, continued working with the Technical Standards and Safety Authority on a proposal for a national reconciliation agreement to improve the mobility of gas fitters/technicians across Canada.