Romano says OLG showing signs of public service job growth

Sault Ste. Marie MPP Ross Romano is pointing to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) hiring for new positions locally as a sign of job growth in the city. 

The 2022 Ontario budget outlines plans to spread the public service workforce across the province in a bid to stimulate local economies and save money. But what does that mean for Sault Ste. Marie? 

“I think you’re already seeing growth at OLG, adding that it’s looking at hiring for new positions,” said Romano, speaking with SooToday at a ribbon-cutting event Friday. “They’re already starting that growth now, looking for executive leadership. Of course, it means the potential for a lot more job growth in our community."

OLG is looking to fill 59 positions in 43 roles locally.  OLG’s recruiting event, which will be held as a virtual job fair, takes place April 27-28. The event will invite interested candidates to book 15-minute virtual one-on-one interviews with OLG leaders for the role of their choice beginning April 21. 

Romano pointed to a visit by Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy to the Sault in August 2021, in which the minister was reminded by a Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce audience of the importance of OLG jobs for the community, as another positive sign. 

The government has said that employment growth and opportunities have been too concentrated in the province’s largest metropolitan areas and they are looking for ways to change that.  

“We’re making it very crystal clear to the people of this province that the agencies of Ontario belong to Ontario, not to Toronto,” Romano said.

Despite the Sault OLG office’s designation as the corporation’s head office, approximately 800 of OLG’s 1,300 employees are employed at its Toronto office and an approximate number of 500 here in the Sault.

Over the years, many of those 800 jobs were moved from the Sault to Toronto.

- with files from The Canadian Press