The Ministry of Government Services is responsible for the delivery and management of government operations. Its goal is to provide cost-effective services to all residents and businesses and to the Ontario Public Service. It replaced the former Management Board Secretariat and the former Ministry of Consumer and Business Services in 2005. Between November 2007 and July 2008, the organization's name was the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services.
When the ministry was created, Premier Dalton McGuinty described it as the "chief operating officer of government." The position combines responsibility for consumer protection, business regulation, management of the civil service, labour negotiations and the central plumbing of government: IT, procurement, and shared services.
One of the main projects of the Ministry is the creation of ServiceOntario. At completion in 2011, ServiceOntario will be the one stop shop for all government retail operations. Any and all routine transactions between government and the public will be through a ServiceOntario office, website, call centre or kiosk. Everything from birth certificates to health cards, drivers licences to student loans will be delivered through this one operation.
Alongside ServiceOntario, MGS offers access to its public records through the three of its licensed service providers, one of each is ESC Corporate Services.
The current minister is Harinder Takhar.
MGS oversees the following agencies: