ServiceOntario will soon provide drivers licence and health card services in Rainy River area

By Ken Johnston
Editor

Last week the Ontario Government announced that it will be consolidating Health Card and Driver’s Licences under one roof; that of ServiceOntario.
While Service Ontario has been hosting the travelling health card services every few months, the Driver’s Licensing in Rainy River has been done out of Marmus Shell. According to a news release from Leeds-Grenville Member of Provincial Parliament Robert Runciman, the province plans to close 70 privately run locations for driver’s licensing beginning this fall and over the next 18 months.
At present there are only 27 Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP) offices in the province; the closest to here is Kenora and Thunder Bay. With this new consolidation there will now be 300 places (Service Ontario) in the province where people can get their health cards processed and photos taken.
Local staff at the ServiceOntario confirmed Monday that this plan will be coming but could not give out any more information. Instead they deferred the call to an official in Toronto. Issues Officer, with Government Services Ontario, Heather Kamps, said, “We have no specific details on timing... staffing... or how this will affect individual communities.” She did say the target date for it to be completed will be Dec. 2010.
Bill Marmus, Owner of Marmus Shell in Rainy River told the Record Monday, “We have not heard anything and they are welcome to it. There is no money in it... they can drive them crazy over there (ServiceOntario).”
It is also not clear if the new “Enhanced Drivers Licences (EDL)” will be available at all the new locations. At present they are only available in Thunder Bay in this region. The EDL is an accepted form of I.D. at the U.S. border. Kamps said, “It is possible it will be available (in Rainy River). Our goal is to have them available to the public with 10 km. of driving distance... but again I don’t have any specifics on this and when we do we will let people know.” Kamps said that as the changes happen across the region, the province will be letting people know via the media, posters and notices in their license renewals.
“Ontarians expect government to spend their tax dollars wisely to provide the excellent customer service they need and deserve. ServiceOntario is integrating services and consolidating locations to make things faster, friendlier and easier for people.” said Government Services Minister Harinder Takhar in a news release last week.
ServiceOntario is located at the corner of Fourth St. and Hwy. 11 in Rainy River (the former Lowes Furniture building).