London will soon be home to the new headquarters of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
The WSIB, an arms-length agency of the Ministry of Labour, Training, and Skills Development, is one of the largest insurance organizations in North America.
The move from its current location in Toronto is part of a provincial Community Jobs Initiative, bringing jobs and economic development to more communities and ensuring provincial agencies are spread across Ontario.
“With 76% of the office space occupied by our provincial agencies located in downtown Toronto, relocating them from some of the most expensive real estate in the world will not only save millions of taxpayers’ dollars but also grow our regional economies,” said Ross Romano, Minister of Government and Consumer Services. “We’re getting this done by leveraging the government’s existing real estate holdings across Ontario and taking advantage of reduced rental costs in smaller communities.”
The government plans to amend the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, which currently requires the WSIB to be located in Toronto, making it the only government agency with a geographic restriction for its head office embedded in legislation.
The agency’s head office has over 600,000 square feet at an annual cost of over $30 million.