Windsor-Essex residents frustrated with Service Ontario wait times, confusion

Some residents of Windsor-Essex needing to renew health cards or get new licence plate stickers are struggling with long wait times.

It could mean standing in line for hours, or waiting weeks — even months — for that letter to come in the mail.

Jan Czubernat went to the Service Ontario location on Tecumseh Road in east Windsor to renew his driver's licence and health card. He waited in a line of about 50 people for more than two hours.

"Everybody was waiting outside. Some people had masks, some didn't," he said. "There was no really social distancing and a lot of people were upset for the wait time."

In an emailed statement to CBC Windsor, Ontario's Ministry of Government and Consumer Services said "Our government takes the health and safety of Service Ontario employees and customers very seriously. At this time, we are reminding Ontarians to please limit their Service Ontario visits to when absolutely necessary to ensure that we follow public health recommendations for retail spaces, which includes ensuring physical distancing inside and outside centres."

The ministry goes on to explain that most services do not require in-person visits as many are available online.

"As of August 4, 2020, all public Service Ontario offices are open, and 90 percent of private Service Ontario officers are open, with more locations re-opening and returning to regular hours of operation every day," reads the statement.

"We appreciate Ontarians patience during this time as the situation continues to evolve. The government is actively involved in recovery plans to further open centres and increase access to online services where possible."

But locally, Service Ontario offices are still closed in Essex, Amherstburg, Leamington, Tilbury and Belle River. The one Czubernat went to in east Windsor is open just four hours a day. Two other Windsor locations are open.

NDP MPP for Windsor West, Lisa Gretzky, says the government's response to the closures is a "non answer."

"That's the problem that we've been seeing, that's the frustration I've been hearing from constituents at my office — the government has not done a very good job of communicating what is available online and what someone might have to go to in person," she said.

"A lot of those folks could be doing it online assuming that they have access to to the Internet some folks do not have access to the Internet or are not able to navigate the Internet as well as other people."

Gretzky, whose office is in the same plaza at the Service Ontario Czubernat visited, said line ups are much too long and are exposing vulnerable people.

LISTEN | Hear more from Czubernat and Gretzky:

"A lot of elderly people we see standing in line outside and they have walkers or they have mobility issues where they have a cane or they need a place to sit — and that shouldn't be happening," she said, adding there should be better communication about what is available online and more phone in options.

"So the government really has dropped the ball on this."

Validity period extended

As recently as July 29, Service Ontario had reminded drivers of the government's policy through its Twitter account, saying simply, "Your licence plate sticker is still valid."

And on its website, the provincial government says that the move is part of an effort to limit the number of in-person visits to Service Ontario locations during the pandemic.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation also confirmed the policy remains in place in an email to CBC Toronto on Tuesday. Senior issues adviser Lee Alderson wrote that the validation period has been extended to driver's licences, licence plate validations, Ontario photo cards and commercial vehicle operator registration certificates.

"Documents that expired on or after March 1, 2020 will remain valid and legal past the expiry, until further notice," Alderson said.

The ministry said a full list of services with extended validity periods is available online here.

They say more than 40 of the most common transactions are available online and a list can be found here.