Saanich is now home to a new Service BC centre, offering a one-stop location for residents, business owners and visitors to take advantage of hundreds of government programs.
On Tuesday, Amrik Virk, Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services, appeared at the new centre in Gateway Village to celebrate its opening. Virk said the location has been several years in the making and will use innovative, new technology to better address the needs of its clients.
“It's part of our commitment in government to be citizen centred,” he said. “We’re looking for ways to cut red tape, we're looking for ways to make government services easier to navigate, more accessible and frankly more responsive to citizens.”
Service BC offers a variety of services, including voter registration, child care subsidy applications, marriage licences and tax payments. With the addition of the Saanich centre, Service BC is up to 62 locations that serve two million people annually.
“Our goal is to provide not gold, but platinum service to British Columbians, and this is an example of this,” said Virk.
With the next closest Service BC location in Duncan, Mayor Richard Atwell said the new location will benefit not just Saanich residents but people living in surrounding areas.
“It’s fabulous to have another service centre here in Saanich,” he said. “Uptown, Gateway Village and Saanich Plaza, and the municipal hall across the road – this is really our downtown, and it’s going to draw more people to this area, to the shops, and to live and do their business here in Saanich. It’s a great win for us.”
The new Service BC centre is at 403–771 Vernon Ave. and is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit servicebc.gov.bc.ca.
jacob.zinn@saanichnews.com