Single online stop coming for government services

The Newfoundland and Labrador government is introducing a single point of entry for online services as part of the next phase of its Way Forward plan.

"The traditional methods of service delivery have become outdated, and in some cases unresponsive" to what people need, said Finance Minister Tom Osbournewho joined Premier Dwight Ball for the announcement Tuesday.

The new single sign-in site will allow Newfoundlanders andLabradoriansto access basically every government service from renewing their licence orMCPcard, toapplying for a moose licence or business licence. Residents will be also be able to set personalized alerts about government services.

The newGovNLwebsite will cost $8 million over five years from building toimplementation, money which comes out of the Office of the Chief Information Officer budget and was part of Budget 2018.

When the site fully kicks in, an annual savings of $16 million can be expected and a current total of 65 government sites will go down to five, Ball said, which means improvements in both efficiency and privacy.

The province's 170 tech companies are ready to assist the government in moving forward with this updated government service site, Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industrieschair Kendra Macdonald said.

Announcement Wednesday on community organizations

Strengthening the economy in the mining and community sectors, and a new plan with the arts and culture community, are some of the other changes the provincecan expect in the next year as the Way Forward plan moves into its next phase, government said.

More supports for community organizations will be announced Wednesday, according to the premier.

• N.L. government's report card on Way Forward plan boasts $45 million in savings
• Dwight Ball promises vision for "The Way Forward" at consultations

The government said more than $105 million in annual savings from efficiencies has been found through The Way Forward since its launch in the fall of 2016.

Part of that comes from zero-based budgeting, "where you have to account for every dollar spent," Ball said.