Arnprior, Ont. residents frustrated by lengthy closure of local Service Ontario office

Residents in Arnprior are frustrated by the closure of the local Service Ontario location on Madawaska Boulevard.

A sign posted on the door indicates the service centre closed back in July due to staff illness. Another sign in the centre's front window says the licence bureau is "closed until further notice."

A sign at the Arnprior Service Ontario office advising of its closure due to a staff illness, dated July 11, 2023. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)

Despite these notices, many residents show up daily, expecting the provincial services centre to be open.

"It is a public service; it's needed in a town like this, a smaller community," said local resident Eddie Nicholas, who was looking to certify new licence plates on Tuesday.

"You come when you need to. It's nice to have it in Arnprior. It's unfortunate that it's closed and hopefully they open it again."

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The government contracts out the Service Ontario location in Arnprior to a private operator. In the operator's absence due to illness, residents are frustrated the province has not stepped in to keep the service centre running.

"It is (inconvenient) for me because I have to go back into the hospital on the 19th and I need a health card," said Arnprior resident Lynn Coumont, who also showed up to the Arnprior location Tuesday hoping for service.

During the closure, residents have been directed to attend Service Ontario locations in Renfrew, Carleton Place, or Stittsville. Having services completed online is also a recommended option.

"We don't have a lot of authority to deal with this matter," says Arnprior's CAO Robin Paquette.

"We are talking to our local MPP and sending people there with concerns because it is a provincial agency."

In a statement, the province says they have been "assessing the service provider in the reopening of the service centre, and have been taking steps to return all services to Arnprior."

With many rural residents and an aging population, the town says it is important for Arnprior to have a physical Service Ontario location.

A sign on the Arnprior Service Ontario office notifying people the licence bureau is closed until further notice. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)

"We'd like to make sure that our residents have all the services that they need available to them," says Paquette.

"But at the end of the day, there are a lot of municipalities that don't have Service Ontario right within their town and do have to travel, so it may just become a reality for our residents."