Sault mayor wants OLG jobs centralized in the city

The mayor of Sault Ste. Marie is looking to expand the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.’s headquarters in the city.

Matthew Shoemaker recently met with the company’s board of directors, pitching the idea of moving the majority of OLG jobs to the Sault.

Currently, less than half of OLG employees work at the company’s headquarters in Sault Ste. Marie.

“Back in the early ‘90s, when OLG was first established here in Sault Ste Marie, it was like 90 or 92 per cent of the jobs that were here,” Shoemaker said.

“So it has been a significant decline in percentage and a decline in actual number of jobs over 30 years.”

He said the headquarters at Roberta Bondar Place is under-utilized and would have the capacity to add hundreds of workers to the roughly 500 it currently holds.

And moving workers to the Sault would benefit the staff, the company and the city.

"On an OLG salary here in Sault Ste. Marie, you can afford a lot more in terms of housing, in terms of your quality of life than you would be able to in Toronto," Shoemaker said.

"The retention rates of employees … in Sault Ste Marie are much higher than they are in Toronto."

In addition to expanding the knowledge sector, the mayor said council is committed to economic development wherever possible.

"We've got the steel plant doing well. We've got the tube mill doing well. We could use a boost and OLG would give us that boost," Shoemaker said.

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"And there are other avenues we are pursuing, as well, to see if we can get, you know, manufacturing facilities that are aligned with the type of production Algoma Steel does to enhance the offerings of the community."

Shoemaker said moving more OLG jobs to the Sault will increase other gaming-related expansion in the city.

The mayor adds OLG officials see the benefits in the Sault office. 

"Maintaining the corporate head office in Sault Ste. Marie continues to be fundamental to OLG's success in meeting its strategic goals," the company told CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca in an email Thursday night.

"OLG has increased the level of staffing over the past few years and has maintained our complement of approximately 580 employees based in the Sault. OLG continues to undertake a comprehensive strategy to attract, recruit and retain employees in Sault Ste. Marie."