The Ontario government has announced plans to digitize several government services, including driver’s licences.
Premier Doug Ford told reporters on October 19th that although the government had been planning to do this for a while, the process is being accelerated due to COVID-19.
“Whether you’re getting married or renewing your driver’s licence or health card or filing paperwork for your business: We want to make services more accessible, more reliable and more convenient for you,” he said.
“From banking to groceries, businesses have adapted their operations to meet their customer’s needs online and the government must do the same.”
The plan is called “Ontario Onwards: Ontario’s COVID-10 Action Plan for a People-Focused Government.” It consists of 30 projects that aim to improve the way people and businesses are able to interact with the government.
One of the projects is called the “digital wallet,” which would consist of people’s driver’s licences and birth certificates.
“This new technology would allow you to securely access new services online where previously, you may have needed to go in-person to prove your identity,” Ford said.
The action plan essentially aims to make government services more digitally accessible, which would be quite useful for Ontarians amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Government of Ontario, CP24
