Selected Cases

A transgender inmate contacted our Office after she was involved in an altercation with correctional officers.

We received complaints from a group of 10 inmates, all women, that they were strip searched by correctional officers in their unit, in view of one another.

We received complaints from two inmates at the same facility, alleging they had been sexually assaulted.

A business owner complained to us after his municipality informed him that a set of stairs on the back of his building encroached on municipal property.

We were contacted by the leaseholder of Crown land that included ski trails and a drainage system that had previously been installed by his municipality.

A homeowner reached out to us when the land around her home was rezoned from agricultural to industrial.

A woman who could not pay her property taxes due to financial hardship sought our help after her municipality refused her request to cancel her debt.

A group of 50 students at a university reached out to our Office for help after they all failed the same course.

A student sought our help after his college told him he would have to retake a trade course he had already effectively completed, which would delay his graduation and the full-time employment he had arranged.

An international student at a college of applied arts and technology requested a tuition refund when he decided to leave his program and return home to India.

A woman who had been living outside of Canada for 15 years sought our help in obtaining more than $25,000 in child support through the Family Responsibility Office (FRO).

A woman sought our help because she hadn’t received Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) payments or drug benefits from August 2020 to October 2021.

A woman had her ODSP application denied after a year of waiting.

A father in crisis sought our help to find services and supported living for his son, a 15-year-old with complex special needs.

After giving a presentation at a group home, our staff were conducting private conversations with the residents, as we normally do.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Group home; Quality of care; Rights (Good care)

A young person in a youth justice centre complained to us that he was being routinely strip-searched by staff after every visit he had with his lawyer.

Issues: Youth justice facility; Rights (Safety)

Three months after he turned 18, a young man told us he had been forced to rely on social assistance because he had never been registered for “Ready, Set, Go” funding, which supports young people transitioning out of care.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Voluntary Youth Services Agreement (VYSA)

A staff member from a youth residence contacted us, concerned that a youth with special needs and physical disabilities wasn’t receiving adequate support, such as grab bars in the shower and railings on porch stairs.

Issues: Duty to report; Disability; Rights (Identity)

A woman contacted us in frustration over delays and a lack of communication from the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) regarding a deceased relative who had been an OPGT client.

A woman complained to us that her friend, who was a client of the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT), was struggling to pay for her day-to-day expenses with the weekly $50 the OPGT provided.

A landlord who claimed her tenant was threatening to kill her and her children asked for an urgent hearing with the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).

A woman called us for help on the morning that she, her partner and three children were being evicted.

A transgender woman who changed the name and sex designation on her driver’s licence contacted us in frustration after being told that her car insurance would now cost more.

A senior sought our help when his driver’s licence was suspended, just seven months after he had gone through an extensive process with the Driver Medical Review Office to get it reinstated.

A man noticed that the driver’s licence he’d had for four years did not indicate that he was also qualified to drive a motorcycle.

A man had been waiting to receive a new wallet card from Skilled Trades Ontario – proof of his skilled trade credentials – for more than a year.

A man sought our help in obtaining his Joint Health and Safety Committee Certification through the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

A man lost his house when his Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) benefits were cut off.

A woman reached out to us after contacting the Ministry of Long-Term Care’s Action Line with concerns about her mother’s death in a long-term care home.

A woman whose daughter had to have an emergency root canal procedure – at a cost of $700 – sought our help in obtaining coverage through Healthy Smiles Ontario, a provincial program that covers dental care for eligible children and youth who are 17 and under.

A low-income senior complained that her utility provider had been incorrectly applying her Ontario Electricity Support Program credit to her water bill for more than five years.

A woman whose medical condition makes her reliant on an electric wheelchair, bed and lift was facing having her hydro disconnected because of an outstanding bill of $15,000.

A landlord complained to us that his municipality had put his tenant’s unpaid water and wastewater charges on his property tax bill, without notifying him in advance.

A man came to us for help when a problem with his birth certificate prevented him from applying for federal employment insurance (EI).

We heard from a man who was waiting for a new long-form birth certificate for his son.

A bride whose name was misspelled on her marriage certificate sought our help after waiting in vain for ServiceOntario to send her a form to request a correction.

A Francophone municipal employee in Eastern Ontario was invited to take part in an English-only survey on the quality of municipal and provincial emergency management programs.

A Francophone filed a complaint about an announcement of a public consultation on the reform of housing industry regulations posted to the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery’s French LinkedIn page.

A Francophone reached out to us because he was unable to find French versions of posts on the social media accounts of Lotto Max (Facebook, Instagram and X).

A Franco-Torontonian reached out to let us know that content on Infrastructure Ontario’s X account (@InfraOntario) about plans for an upcoming spa, water park and multi-storey parking garage at Ontario Place was only available in English.

Two Francophone students from Northern Ontario reached out to us with concerns about the quality of the French version of the accreditation exam for emergency medical care assistants.

A Francophone member of the military contacted us about a regulation in the Environmental Protection Act that he needed for work, but was not available in French.

Walking to work one day, a man noticed English-only signs about the upcoming construction of Corktown Station in Toronto for the future Ontario Line.

Our Unit handled a case involving more than 600 English-only road signs in Northern Ontario, reported by a Francophone who told us he drove more than 800 kilometres to document them.

A Francophone resident from the Sudbury area informed us about an English-only sign marking the French River on Highway 69, located between Parry Sound and Sudbury.

A man called the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) call centre in December 2022 to make an online purchase.

A Francophone who had been unemployed for a long time requested a background check from the OPP so he could be hired for a new job.

As he drove to Hamilton in a snowstorm, a driver noticed that the French version of the government’s emergency weather alerts broadcast on the radio were garbled and unintelligible.

A Francophone teen at a secure treatment centre run by a designated organization was having trouble accessing services in French, including in the classroom.

A Francophone representing himself in a dispute received an English-only email inviting him to sign up for the CaseLines platform (used by Ontario courts) to upload his documents for an upcoming hearing.

An Eastern Ontario mom reached out to us on behalf of her daughter.

A Francophone with an Outdoors card noticed that the eye colour field on his (bilingual) card was in English only (“brown”).

A man who had moved from Quebec to Ontario had initiated the process to change his driver’s licence.

A Francophone man in Northern Ontario called 511 to get information on driving conditions and selected service in French.

A Franco-Torontonian contacted us to say that the web page for the “Tow Zone” pilot program operated by the Ministry of Transportation showed stickers in English only on the vehicles of authorized towing companies.

The doctor of a Francophone woman who needed surgery was of the opinion that it would be too risky for her to drive.

A woman in Northern Ontario went to the emergency room of a designated hospital and was greeted by an employee who asked her COVID-19 screening questions in English only.

A patient at a designated hospital in Northern Ontario told us that on one of her many visits to the hospital, she had noticed multiple unilingual English posters, including one that said “Tell us how we’ve done,” as well as posters in French with errors, including one that misspelled “défense de vapoter” (vaping prohibited).

A Francophone told us about her partner’s experience after undergoing heart surgery in a partially designated hospital.

A blind Francophone man complained to us after a designated community health centre in Northern Ontario sent him confidential, encrypted documents regarding his health in English only.

A Francophone man required services from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) after he was injured at work.

A Francophone woman received a construction notice in English only from Metrolinx, which had been mailed to tenants of a residential building in Toronto.

A man went to a ServiceOntario branch in central west Toronto to get an accent added to his first name on his health card.

While at work, a Francophone man noticed that the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) had published a notice on its website in English only about a proceeding.

A Francophone woman who was in a car crash in the Ottawa region received a bill from the Ministry of Transportation’s Highway Incident Claims Unit.

A Francophone in Eastern Ontario reached out to tell us about her experience as a witness to a situation while camping.

An inmate sought our help because he was housed on the same range with another inmate who was facing charges for stabbing him – and, he told us, was now extorting him for access to the canteen, food and phone calls.

An inmate told us a correctional officer threw him to the ground and started punching and kneeing him – leaving the inmate with swollen arms and a broken hand.

A woman whose common-law spouse had died while they were living in a homeless shelter complained to us that the Chief Coroner’s Office had buried him even though she had requested to claim the body.

A woman complained to us about how her municipality handled her request to convert a shipping container into a garden shed.

A woman reached out to us because her family’s subsidized housing unit was uninhabitable after a fire.

Three residents told us that construction near their homes had caused their wells to dry up.

Shortly before the day of the October 2022 municipal election, several voters in one municipality complained to us that their mail-in ballots arrived too late.

A woman sought our help after her husband, who recently had an aneurysm, underwent a capacity assessment to determine his ability to make decisions about his property and personal care.

A community support worker contacted us with concerns about a 97-year-old neighbour.

A single mom of a child with a disability contacted us in desperation.

A man who pays family support through the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) complained to us that the FRO was garnishing too much from his federal disability payments, leaving him unable to pay his rent.

A woman was owed thousands of dollars in support payments by a former spouse who was living in British Columbia.

The mother of an 11-year-old with autism and developmental disabilities contacted us when she wasn’t able to access funding under the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) or the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities program (ACSD), even though she believed her child was eligible for both.

After he suffered a traumatic brain injury, an eight-year-old boy in the care of a northern children’s aid society (CAS) was airlifted from his home community to a rehabilitation hospital in southern Ontario.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Rights (Fairness)

A youth who was turning 18 called us for help when plans for her to enter a transitional housing program and complete her final semester of high school fell through.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Rights (Good care); Rights (Fairness)

A 16-year-old complained that staff at his group home weren’t helpful to him after his personal belongings, including a laptop, were stolen or damaged by other youths living in the home.

Issues: Group home; Rights (Good care); Rights (Safety)

A vendor complained to us after attempting to bid on a school board’s fire alarm testing contract.

A college student in an online learning program sought our help after he lost access to one of his courses.

A Francophone student complained to us that his French-language high school couldn’t provide him with a “section 23” program, which is support provided through the ministries of Education and Children, Community and Social Services to students who cannot attend school due to identified social, emotional, behavioural or mental health needs.

A mother complained to us that her child’s school bus route was far too long, averaging four hours per day.

A man was trying to renew a health card on behalf of his son, who has a disability and does not have a driver’s licence.

A pregnant woman who had tested positive for an infection contacted us when she received the results from Public Health Ontario and realized that the wrong follow-up test had been done.

A mother sought our help when a DriveTest centre wouldn’t let her daughter bring her certified service dog on her road test.

A mother contacted us in frustration about the conduct of a driving instructor towards her son, a student driver.

An aspiring hot dog vendor complained to us after waiting for two years for a letter from the Ministry to confirm that his custom-built propane-fueled hot dog cart did not require a vehicle identification number or licence plate.

A woman contacted us after a difficult experience trying to resolve a traffic ticket.

A woman who was born in Ontario but living in Quebec applied for a name change after discovering that her birth registration listed the wrong name.

A woman applied for a replacement birth certificate for her adult son, who has a disability, but her request was cancelled because her ex-husband had also applied for a birth certificate for him (ServiceOntario does not permit individuals to have two birth certificates).

A woman who immigrated to Canada as a child sought our help in changing her name on official documents.

A woman who had been approved for a second payment of $10,000 from the Ontario Small Business Support Grant program, sought our help after months of waiting.

An injured worker had been approved by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to see a doctor some distance from his home.

A Francophone man in Quebec had been told he still owed dues for his trade licence, dating back to when he lived in Ontario a decade ago.

An environmental group complained to us when they didn’t hear back from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry about their concerns related to a development project’s unregulated grey water and natural septic systems.

When a conservation authority approved a permit to fill regulated flood plains, we received several complaints from local residents concerned about the negative effects on the environment.

A mother contacted our Children and Youth Unit because she was concerned that her son might have been hurt by a staff member in a group home.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Group home; Rights (Safety)

The Office of the Children’s Lawyer contacted us on behalf of a 17-year-old who was trying to get the cost of braces for her teeth covered by her children’s aid society (CAS).

Issues: Children’s aid society; Voluntary Youth Services Agreement (VYSA); Rights (Good care)

A man noticed a post in French on the Office of the Auditor General’s Twitter account, announcing the release of its annual report on the environment.

A man saw a post in French on Twitter from the Office of the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario, indicating that the latest report from the Integrity Commissioner was available, with a link to the report “Re: The Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board.”

A woman seeking a review as part of her work visited the website of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC).

A man shared with us his family’s experience after their dying mother was admitted to a designated hospital in Northern Ontario.

A man complained to us about the lack of French language services at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic.

A woman contacted us because she was unable to obtain home care services in French for her spouse, who had lost the ability to speak English due to health problems.

A crane operator attempted to contact Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) to request an explanation regarding an invoice and was unable to obtain services in French.

We were contacted by a Francophone mother whose child identifies as female – which represented a change from the gender assigned to the child at birth.

A man filed a complaint about Ontario Health’s job postings.

A woman informed us that French subtitles had disappeared from the videos on the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s Facebook page entitled “Lieux de travail de l’Ontario [Ontario At Work].”

A 13-year-old in the care of a children’s aid society (CAS) contacted us when he didn’t hear back from his CAS about making arrangements to see his mother.
 

Issues: Children’s aid society; Rights (Good care)

A Francophone man who wanted some information about renewing his licence plate contacted our Office because he was unable to obtain service in French from a ServiceOntario office in a designated area.

A woman contacted us to complain about her experience with inadequate French services from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, both during telephone conversations and in written communications in response to her access to information request.

After an inmate complained to us that he was pushed to the ground and attacked by several correctional officers, we intervened to verify that a local investigation had been conducted.

An inmate with HIV complained that he hadn’t been receiving testosterone and other supplements he required to prevent muscle deterioration.

A man contacted us in frustration after his application to have his issue heard by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) was dismissed.

A man who was in jail awaiting sentencing complained to us that correctional officials had told him he could not vote in the September 2021 federal election, even though he was eligible.

A homeowner complained to us that her municipality was demanding she pay more than $5,000 in fees for a permit for a culvert that had been built under her driveway years ago.

A man seeking a property tax deferment complained to us that council had unfairly rejected his request because there wasn’t time to consider it.

A woman complained to us that she had no idea why her water bill had tripled in a few months with no change to her consumption, and the municipal billing department would not help.

After water rates were increased in a small municipality, we received 48 complaints from local residents who disagreed with the increase.

We received a complaint from the father of a student with disabilities who resides during the week at a provincial demonstration school in southern Ontario.

A university student who was exclusively enrolled in online courses and as an online teaching assistant complained to us that he was “unenrolled” because he did not provide proof that he had received the COVID-19 vaccine.

A man who had accidentally submitted incorrect information to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) sought our help when OSAP converted his $32,000 grant to a loan.

A man studying online for his real estate certification complained to us after he was accused of leaving his seat during a virtual exam and then locked out of the program.

A woman who was behind on her hydro bills asked Ontario Works (OW) for help to avoid getting disconnected.

A mother had been waiting for months to access support funding to assist with her nine-year-old son’s developmental mental health conditions.

A woman who was owed more than $10,000 in support payments from her ex-husband complained to us that she had provided documents to the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) proving that he had the money in a bank account, but the FRO would not take action.

An Ontario Works (OW) recipient urgently needed help when her benefits were suspended because she submitted some paperwork late.

A man who had continued to make regular family support payments to his former mother-in-law, who had cared for his now-adult daughter, complained to us after he learned the older woman had been dead for more than a year.

A couple with disabilities contacted us after trying for months to get an expedited hearing with the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to address unsafe conditions in their apartment.

A woman sought our help after trying for several weeks to get a refund from the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) for a package that Canada Post never delivered.

A former client of the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) contacted our Office after she was told she would have to pay an outstanding restitution order to receive a pardon for a past criminal offence.

A man contacted our Office after waiting almost two years for the Ministry of Transportation to return a $5,000 security deposit.

A woman who needed to drive to visit her husband in hospital sought our help after ServiceOntario told her she could not renew her licence.

A woman complained to us that the Ministry of Transportation had suspended her licence even though she had faxed in her eye test results a month earlier for special review.

A woman sought our help when she found out her driver’s licence had been suspended for medical reasons five years earlier, without her knowledge.

We heard from a man who was still waiting for his semi-annual grant for ostomy supplies from the Ministry’s Assistive Devices Program.

A man contacted our Office after trying unsuccessfully to have his Trillium Drug Program deductible increased.

A man contacted us on behalf of his father, who was immunocompromised and receiving cancer treatments.

A woman whose husband was killed in a workplace accident complained to us that she had heard nothing about the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development’s investigation of the incident for more than a year.

After receiving the first of two Small Business Support Grant payments, a business owner was told he was no longer eligible for the second.

A homeowner sought our help with servicing his septic tank – which was located on the property of a neighbour who would not allow access.

A group of residents near a construction site complained that the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks was not acting on their complaints about debris.

A woman sought our help after she purchased an annual Ontario Parks pass by mistake – she had meant to buy a Parks Canada pass (for national parks) instead.

A mother complained to us about delays in obtaining long-form birth certificates for her two university-aged children, who needed the documents to apply for post-secondary education funding.

A mother contacted us in frustration after waiting several months for her son’s name change to be processed.

A concerned adult contacted our Office on behalf of a youth who was denied a Voluntary Youth Services Agreement (VYSA) by a children’s aid society (CAS). VYSAs are available to 16- and 17-year-olds who have left home because of concerns about their safety, and who are in need of child protection services.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Voluntary Youth Services Agreement (VYSA)

We received a complaint from a Francophone who contacted the Ministry of Finance regarding provincial property taxes in an unorganized territory in Northern Ontario.

As large numbers of Ukrainians have sought refuge in Ontario in the wake of Russia’s invasion of their country, Ontario has made efforts to help them settle. However, we recently heard of some having difficulty in obtaining driver’s licences.

A person complained that some LinkedIn accounts of the Ontario government and its agencies, including those of the Ministry of Transportation and Ontario Health, showed a unilingual English logo and title.

A 14-year-old youth needed our help getting identification documents to register for school and access health care, after he was removed from his home by a children’s aid society (CAS) over safety concerns.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Rights (Get help)

A man informed us that although he had chosen to receive the Metrolinx e-newsletter about the Ontario Line in French, it was still being emailed to him in English every week.

We were contacted by a person who requested a bilingual hearing at a courthouse in Northern Ontario.

A youth sought our help with retrieving belongings she had left behind at her family home after experiencing physical abuse at the hands of her stepfather.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Rights (Good care); Rights (Get help)

 

A 16-year-old complained to us that her children’s aid society (CAS) had refused to allow her to enter into a Voluntary Youth Services Agreement (VYSA) after she had left her home due to the abusive behaviour of her aunt.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Voluntary Youth Services Agreement (VYSA); Rights (Get help)

A youth in care sought our help in filing a complaint about staff at her residential placement.

Issue: Rights (Get help)

A man contacted the provincial COVID-19 vaccine system by phone and chose the “French” option to request his proof of vaccination by mail.

In February 2021, the government launched an online consultation to get ideas and feedback on its plan to introduce a digital ID (digital identification).

We were contacted by a person who watched the Trillium Awards ceremony on Facebook on June 17, 2020, which was held in English only.

We were contacted by a Francophone woman after she tried to call Metrolinx. Although she chose the French phone line, she said the agent who took the call could only speak English.

We were contacted by a person who visited the Ontario Health Data Platform website to learn more about a Ministry of Health research project – only to discover the site was only available in English.

A man working at a French-language school board contacted us because he wanted to obtain the French version of the Fire Code (Regulation 213/07 of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act) in order to know the provisions that apply to school facilities.

We were contacted by a person living in a designated area of Eastern Ontario who requested the French version of an inspection report conducted by the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA).

A mother complained to our Office that her son’s school didn’t notify the local children’s aid society (CAS) about allegations he made to his teacher that his grandmother had hurt him.

Issues: Duty to report; Rights (Safety)

A woman told us that she wanted to get physiotherapy care for her father.

A 14-year-old in care told us her worker was insisting that she go to school in person, even though her preference was to continue to attend school online.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Disability; Rights (Good care); Rights (Identity)

A Francophone woman complained to us that a dermatology clinic at an eastern Ontario hospital did not provide services in French when she booked her appointment on the phone, at reception or during the medical examination.

The French Language Services Unit has received several complaints about the Amber alert system.

A Francophone education professional complained to us about the inadequate quality of French on some of the forms for the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP), a school-to-work transition program offered in high schools across the province.

A man with ALS complained that when he moved into a long-term care home in 2017 due to his deteriorating condition, he become ineligible for the ventilator that he had been provided through the province’s Ventilator Equipment Pool program.

A First Nations trapper sought our help in obtaining a refund from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry for licences to sell furs commercially, and a mandatory humane trapping course.

A homeowner complained to us about a pipe outlet on his property that was leaking foul-smelling fluid. His municipality referred him to the Ministry of Transportation, which denied responsibility.

A group home worker raised health and safety concerns with us after he and a few colleagues contracted COVID-19.

A personal support worker contacted us in frustration when he and his colleagues were denied “pandemic pay,” despite being in close contact with patients.

A woman who was waiting for the Fair Practices Commissioner (FPC – the WSIB’s internal ombudsman) to assist her with a loss-of-earnings assessment and prescription cost refund sought our help early in the pandemic.

A woman contacted us in frustration over delays and a lack of communication from the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) regarding her brother, who was an OPGT client.

Several people who work as title searchers complained to us about the province’s decision to end in-person services at all 54 of its Land Registry Offices in October 2020.

A father whose child was born through a surrogate mother complained to us after the Registrar General asked him to resubmit the paperwork for registering the birth, and include an additional form swearing that his statements were true.

A man complained to us about long delays in getting ServiceOntario and the Registrar General to correct a name error on his mother’s death certificate.

A woman contacted us after she missed several cheques from the province’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP), which she required to cover the cost of ostomy supplies.

A woman who has several health issues and relies on Ontario Disability Support Program benefits complained to us that her request for coverage of her medications had been denied by the Ontario Drug Benefit program.

A woman who had lived in Canada for 76 years sought our help when she attempted to renew her health card and discovered she did not have Canadian citizenship.

A driver complained to us after he was told the Ministry had no record of the licence he had surrendered to them 30 days earlier.

A man who had driving experience in India and in British Columbia sought our help after he tried to obtain an equivalent Ontario driver’s licence.

A driver whose licence was suspended as a result of a criminal charge successfully appealed the charge and had it removed from his record.

The mother of a 21-year-old woman with developmental disabilities complained to us that she had not been reimbursed by the province’s Passport program for support services that she purchased for her daughter.

An Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipient complained to us that her benefits had been cut off twice without warning.

An unemployed woman who had been paying child support to her children’s father complained to us that the Family Responsibility Office was still intercepting 50% of her unemployment benefits, even though the man had died and the children were now in her care.

After a youth living in a treatment home complained that his request for a service dog was refused, we followed up with his CAS worker.

Issues: Disability; Rights (Identity)

A 13-year-old in a group home complained that staff were forcing him to talk to them and share his feelings, rather than respecting his privacy.

Issues: Group home; Rights (Good care); Rights (Safety)

A Black 16-year-old complained that her CAS worker was dismissive of her requests for hair and skin products that met her cultural needs, making her feel like she was being treated differently because of her race.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Black youth; Rights (Identity); Rights (Get help); Rights (Fairness)

A would-be commercial truck driver complained to us after the private career college where he took his Mandatory Entry Level Training course was suspended by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities.

A college graduate seeking to pursue studies at a university sought our help when he was unable to provide official transcripts from the college, whose offices were closed in spring 2020 due to COVID-19.

A university student who had completed two years of courses applied for late withdrawal because of a previously undiagnosed mental illness.

After a woman told us her drinking water was discoloured and she feared it was unsafe to drink, we contacted her municipality and the Ontario Clean Water Agency, which runs its water system.

More than 30 people from the same municipality sought our help with concerns about leaking water pipes.

A man who received a ticket for stopping in a “no stopping” zone complained that only a “no parking” sign was visible from the spot.

Residents who live close to an open-pit mine contacted us in frustration after complaining to their municipality about noise, dust, and emissions for years.

We received numerous complaints in 2020-2021 about delays in approvals by Ontario’s Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) for transfers of restricted firearms.

An inmate sought our help after he was involved in an altercation with another inmate and then pepper sprayed and assaulted by correctional officers.

Several inmates in the same facility complained to us that they were strip searched in a main hallway, in view of security cameras.

A youth revealed to us that her concerns about being physically restrained at her group home were not being heard.

Issues: Group home; Physical restraints; Death and Serious Bodily Harm Report (DSBH); Rights (Safety); Rights (Get help)

Our Office checked on a youth after we heard she was hurt when her group home staff physically restrained her self-injurious behaviour.

Issues: Group home; Physical restraints; Death and Serious Bodily Harm Report (DSBH); Rights (Safety)

Our staff reached out to a youth after we learned that he had his arm broken while being restrained by staff at his group home.

Issues: Group home; Physical restraint; Police involvement; Disability; Death and Serious Bodily Harm Report (DSBH); Rights (Safety)

Our Office made inquiries when we learned that a children’s aid society (CAS) asked the police to bring back a youth who had left her foster home without permission to return to her family home.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Police involvement; Death and Serious Bodily Harm Report (DSBH); Rights (Get help); Rights (Fairness)

A whistleblower came to us with several disturbing allegations about a group home serving children and youth who are medically fragile or have other vulnerabilities.

Issues: Group home; Quality of care; Rights (Good care); Rights (Safety)

A woman who had been granted full custody of her niece – with the support of a children’s aid society (CAS) – contacted us after waiting four months for a certified copy of the original court order, which she needed in order to apply for a health card and other important items for the girl.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Rights (Your file)

A Francophone student seeking information about scholarships via the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) contacted us when he discovered there was no option to select services in French in the automated phone system of the OSAP department he called.

A woman sought our help after her two foster children disclosed to her that their former foster parent had been physically and verbally abusive toward them.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Duty to report; Quality of care; Rights (Get help); Rights (Fairness)

A woman returning from an overseas trip complained to us that she was not served in French during the COVID-19 test she was required to undergo at Toronto Pearson airport.

While the Ombudsman’s systemic investigation into delays at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) is ongoing, we have resolved many individual complaints, including from landlords and tenants who had difficulty receiving services in French.

A mother complained to us because she was not receiving any family support payments from her children’s father, even though the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) had the ability to garnish his wages.

After her second suicide attempt, a 15-year-old girl contacted us from the hospital.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Disability; Rights (Get help)

A French-speaking member of the board of directors of a small housing co-op in northern Ontario sought our help when he had trouble completing an annual form from the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO).

A 16-year-old youth complained to us that staff at his group home threatened to lock the refrigerator after he helped himself to food at night when he was hungry.

Issues: Group home; Rights (Good care); Rights (Get help)

After requesting information from the Ministry of Health in French and receiving answers in English twice, a Francophone journalist complained to our Office.

A truck driver who crosses the Canada-U.S. border weekly as an essential worker complained to us that a ServiceOntario location would not let him in and demanded he self-isolate for 14 days because he had recently crossed the border.

A woman worried about the health and safety of a young relative complained to us that the local children’s aid society (CAS) had done “nothing” in response to her concerns.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Quality of care

Our French Language Services Unit received two complaints from people who called the general DriveTest phone line to book driving tests and were obligated to listen to a 90-second message in English only.

A small business owner reached out to us after he was unable to update the information attached to his business licence through ServiceOntario, despite several attempts.

A 16-year-old who has a developmental disability and lives in a group home contacted us to raise questions about his rights.

Issues: Group home; Disability; Rights (Get help)

A 13-year-old racialized youth complained to us after her children’s aid society (CAS) called the police to transport her to a new group home – which they did by handcuffing her and placing her in the back of a police vehicle.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Police involvement; Rights (Identity)

A woman in Thunder Bay decided to go to a local ServiceOntario to update her home address on her driver’s licence, after first checking the website to confirm the service location offered services in French.

A 16-year-old youth living in a group home complained to our Office that staff at the home were not allowing him to contact certain members of his family because his mother – his legal guardian – did not want him speaking to them.

Issues: Group home; Rights (Good care)

A young person in custody contacted us last year to complain that he wasn’t able to vote in the federal election, although he had expressed his interest in voting to the youth facility’s staff members.

After being injured and hospitalized, a college student was unable to complete his one-year course, so the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) converted his $15,000 grant to a loan.

We helped a parent who was refused an identification, placement and review committee (IPRC) to assess her daughter’s giftedness in kindergarten.

With the current pandemic and the necessity to work from home, using conference call lines has become the norm in many organizations.

A 15-year-old emailed us that she was being physically and verbally abused by her mother, and had started to self-harm and even attempted suicide as a result.

Issue: Children’s aid society

A father whose wife died in childbirth sought our help in obtaining a birth certificate and Social Insurance Number for the new baby, which he needed in order to claim survivor benefits.

A former master’s student who began to work in her field just before she completed her degree complained to us that the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) had deemed her ineligible for an Ontario Student Opportunities Grant, due to unreported income.

A 16-year-old living in a foster home sought our help when she was invited to spend the night at a friend’s house, but her foster care agency denied her request, citing COVID-19 restrictions.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Rights (Get help)

When new signs were installed at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry's Fish Culture Station in North Bay, some Francophone residents noticed something fishy - the signs were in English only.

A trailer park owner contacted us when a dispute arose about responsibility for the municipal sewage system servicing the park.

After firefighters used foam containing PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) to put out a fire at her property, a woman complained to us about how long it was taking to ensure her water was safe to drink.

A woman sought our help in getting the Registrar General to help her correct an error she made on her mother’s death certificate.

A man complained to us after trying for years to resolve a name discrepancy with ServiceOntario.

A man sought our help when he was contacted by a collections agency many years after receiving funding from Second Career – a program now operated by the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development.

We have resolved several complaints over the past three years about the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), which nominates skilled immigrant workers for permanent residency.

A driver who moved to B.C. sought our help after waiting for a copy of his driving record from Ontario for 7 weeks.

When attempting to reload her Presto card, a transit rider purchased a monthly Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) pass by mistake. She contacted Metrolinx, which referred her to the TTC, which in turn referred her to Metrolinx.

A man whose vehicle was damaged by a large pothole complained to us after the Ministry of Transportation’s adjuster denied his claim and the road construction company denied responsibility.

A woman came to us in frustration after trying several times to obtain her renewed driver’s licence. Each time she visited ServiceOntario, she was given a temporary licence and told a permanent one would be mailed to her.

A patient contacted us after being told by their physician that a non-cosmetic dermatological treatment was not covered by OHIP, and could only be provided if the patient paid.

A cancer patient who had appealed OHIP’s decision to deny him coverage complained to us when he did not receive a response within the Ministry of Health’s posted deadline.

A woman sought our help after her application for an overnight accommodation allowance was denied by the Northern Health Travel Grant because she did not meet the minimum distance requirement.

A transgender student at a college of applied arts and technology complained to us that she had experienced harassment, bullying, and a lack of accommodation.

A federal inmate who was taking university courses sought our help with submitting a grade appeal. He had tried to submit it to the university’s senate committee, but received no response because he sent it directly to his professor instead of the registrar.

An English-speaking mother whose child attends a French-language school was facing barriers when attempting to raise concerns with the school principal.

A woman in a remote northern community complained to our Office that her grandson, who has Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), had been excluded from school for four months due to escalating violent behaviour. When the child was allowed back to school, he was only allowed to attend for two hours per day, four times a week. 

A homeowner sought our help after learning that his property type had been incorrectly recorded by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) when it was first assessed almost a decade earlier.

After a woman under the guardianship of the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) took out two short-term, high-interest loans without the OPGT’s knowledge or consent, we asked for more information about how it prevents unauthorized loans and other dissipation of clients’ assets.

A recipient of Ontario Disability Support Program benefits contacted us when he discovered his monthly natural gas and water tank rental fees had not been paid since 2016 and he owed $2,000 in outstanding fees.

A man with significant medical issues contacted us with the help of his social worker because he was experiencing financial hardship due to the Family Responsibility Office garnishing his Canada Pension Plan benefits for past child support arrears – although his children were now in their 30s.

A woman complained to us that she had not received any family support payments in over a year, despite submitting paperwork to the Family Responsibility Office asking that she receive them via direct deposit rather than by mailed cheque.

We received three complaints about a chaotic meeting of council for the Municipality of West Nipissing in March 2019.

As noted in last year’s Annual Report, we received 77 complaints in February 2019 about a City of Hamilton committee’s decision to meet outside of the city – the highest number of complaints we have ever received in a single closed meeting case.

A dog owner who went to renew the licences for her pets complained to us when the municipality also charged her to renew the licence of a dog that had died six months earlier.

A man who moved a trailer onto a property while he waited for a permit to build a house on it complained that the municipality had removed the trailer without notice.

A man complained to us that he was charged $123.79 for the installation of a new water meter at his cottage, even though the municipality’s fees by-law listed the fee for water meter replacement as $34.38.

A group of Indigenous inmates complained to us that they were strip-searched before attending a smudging ceremony, leaving them feeling violated, discriminated against and targeted because of their Indigenous spirituality.

An inmate who uses a customized wheelchair to support his spine sought our help because he was being repeatedly transferred to a second institution without his chair.

An inmate complained to us after a sergeant at his facility penalized him by taking away 30 days of earned remission (time off his sentence) for refusing a transfer to another facility.

An 11-year-old told us she felt unsafe in her group home after another resident threatened her with a knife.

Issues: Group home; Rights (Safety)

A young person who was serving a youth sentence at an adult correctional facility complained to us that he was not being provided CAS access to services required by his court-ordered plan.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Rights (Good care)

A man complained to us after he wore a non-medical mask to prevent coronavirus spread inside his local Liquor Board of Ontario (LBCO) outlet, and staff there asked him to remove it so they could verify his identity.

Our staff helped a woman who was having trouble reaching a manager at the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), due to recent changes to its phone system.

A woman sought our help after she was provided with a temporary accessible parking permit with a duration of only six months, when she had previously had one that lasted five years.

An education worker complained to our French Language Services Unit about a unilingual English survey about technology that was being conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Education.

A man complained to us about his municipality issuing parking tickets during the COVID-19 state of emergency.

A cancer patient who is an Ontario Disability Support Program recipient told us she was about to have surgery and urgently needed funds to pay for transportation, but could not reach her caseworker.

A woman whose job was deemed an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic sought our help when her driver’s licence was suspended due to a medical matter and she was temporarily unable to get to work.

A Black youth living in a rural group home with little access to public transit complained to us that staff would not drive him to get a haircut.

Issues: Group home; Black youth; Rights (Identity)

A man visited a London DriveTest centre with his son, who wanted to take the theory component of the road test, and requested services in French.

The mother of a teenager with developmental disability complained to us about an incident involving her daughter at a group home.

Issues: Group home; Police involvement; Disability

A francophone man complained to our French Language Services Unit that he waited an hour on the phone for service in French when he called the disability eligibility decision unit of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.

A mother called our Children and Youth Unit after her local children’s aid society told her it would not review her complaint due to a lack of information.

Issue: Children’s aid society

A woman complained to our French Language Services Unit that the Superior Court in Toronto could not serve her in person in French, resulting in a wasted trip and frustration.

A 16-year-old youth in care of a children’s aid society felt that her needs were not being met since she had a change in caseworkers.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Voluntary Youth Services Agreement (VYSA); Rights (Good care); Rights (Get help)

A French-speaking woman sought our help after she encountered difficulties with the website of the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office.

When a woman complained to us about how she and her family were treated by a children’s aid society, we first advised her to contact her caseworker and raise the issue through the society’s internal process.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Rights (Get help)

Unhappy with his placement at a foster home, a 17-year-old asked his children’s aid society caseworker for a placement change, only to be told the home he was staying in was best for him.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Rights (Get help); Rights (Fairness)

A man who was following the complaints process regarding a bilingual community legal clinic reached out to us after receiving an English-only version of the clinic’s complaints policy.

We received a complaint from a man who had recently moved to Canada. Although his motorcycle licence was valid in his home country, he was required to re-take the test in Ontario. The man had been assigned an English-speaking examiner for his motorcycle road test, even though he requested a French-speaking examiner in advance at a designated DriveTest centre.

A 16-year-old girl living in a group home told us she had asked her children’s aid society worker to initiate a review of her placement because she felt unsafe, but the caseworker didn't follow up with her.

Issues: Children’s aid society; ; Group home; Rights (Safety); Rights (Get help)

A woman who had been pursuing her case at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario for several years sought our help after she learned that the adjudicator assigned to her case was no longer able to continue.

An inmate complained to us that staff at his correctional facility had taken his eyeglasses and refused to return them.

An inmate sought our help in reaching the appropriate correctional officials after her father passed away and she could not get a response to her request to attend his funeral.

An Ontario Works recipient sought our help when he received a letter saying he would have to repay $1,835 to Ontario Works, and that his monthly income would be reduced by $202.

A pensioner who had a longstanding agreement to pay her family support arrears off at $50/month complained to us that the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) sent her a letter threatening to garnish half of her monthly income, which would leave her with no money to pay her utility bills.

A mother who receives support for her adult child with disabilities sought our help after she inadvertently provided inaccurate information to FRO, resulting in the termination of her support and a $21,000 credit to the payor.

The family of a man who won $2,000 in the lottery but died before he could collect the prize sought our help in dealing with OLG officials, whom they had contacted several times over the course of four months.

A woman placed an order with the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) on October 17, 2018, the first day that recreational cannabis became legal in Canada.

A cannabis purchaser received a delivery from the OCS that turned out to be an empty box.

A small business owner sought our help after he was ordered to install fire detectors and alarms on his property, noting that he could not access the technical standard of the Ontario Fire Code that was cited in the order.

A man who wanted to dispute a $40 parking ticket told municipal staff he would call back to schedule a hearing, but when he did so, he was told it had already taken place.

When a snowplow hit a pothole, digging up asphalt and other debris, it dumped the pile in a woman’s front yard and left a larger hole in the road. She complained to us after the municipal crew she called only filled the potholes, leaving the debris in her yard.

A man who received a water bill for more than $700 – around seven times more than his usual charge – called us in frustration when the local water company told him his previous bills were only estimates, but this one was based on actual use, and they could not alter his bill.

After we made inquiries about a man’s complaint that the required notice of a proposed zoning by-law amendment was not posted on the relevant property, the municipality changed its practices.

A Grade 10 student was disappointed to receive a failing grade on the writing component of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test.

In a case that officials called “unprecedented,” a brother and sister complained to us about difficulties in applying to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) – one to attend college, the other university.

A student who was close to completing her program at a college of applied arts and technology was unsure if she had all the credits she needed for her diploma, so she enrolled in an extra course just in case.

A commercial truck driver complained to us that his licence had been downgraded and he had not been able to get an explanation or assistance from ServiceOntario or DriveTest.

A 74-year-old woman who delayed a required driver’s test so she could have hip surgery sought our help after the Ministry cancelled her driver’s licence. She was required to take several tests to keep her licence after having a car accident.

A driver who required his licence for work sought our help when it was suddenly suspended due to a fine he had incurred 27 years earlier. He had been convicted of impaired driving in 1990 and fined $735.

A woman who had lived abroad for many years returned to Ontario and applied to exchange her foreign licence for an Ontario licence.

A transgender woman complained that the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) had improperly refused her application for prior approval for breast reconstruction surgery.

A concerned social worker at a psychiatric hospital asked us if we could help a patient whose OHIP coverage had been suddenly cancelled.

A woman complained to us that the Registrar General’s website froze when she was in the midst of applying for death certificates for two family members.

An international student who had completed post-secondary studies in Ontario and was now employed sought our help in communicating with ServiceOntario about getting an Ontario Health card.

A transgender man seeking a name change complained to us when his application was rejected because the sex on his birth certificate differed from the gender on his name change application.

A provincial government employee complained to us that the practices of the Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Office (WDHP) were onerous and unfair.

After our staff assisted a Tesla owner in having his Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Incentive Program application approved, he returned to us for help in February 2019, after he received only half of his $14,000 rebate.

A woman who runs a commercial fishing business complained that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry had not responded to her request for a refund of more than $31,000 she had overpaid in Crown lease fees over several years.

A father complained to us that FRO had collected thousands of dollars of support payments from him for 14 years, even though his daughter was no longer in the care of her mother but had been made a Crown ward.

A pregnant youth called us for help when she went for an ultrasound and was told her health card was cancelled.

Issues: Rights (Good care); Rights (Get help)

A young person in a treatment group home called us, saying she felt like she had no one to talk to.

Issues: Children’s aid society; Group home; Rights (Fairness)

A 15-year-old who had been in a group home for three years sought our help in moving into a foster home where he could become more independent.

Issues: Group home; Rights (Get help)

An elderly woman needed our help with obtaining new identification after she lost her OHIP card, her primary photo ID.

We helped a father renew his daughter’s OHIP card after she had gone three years without a valid one and her application had been rejected.

A woman who moved to Ontario from Alberta for work sought our help after her application for OHIP coverage was rejected due to inadequate proof that she resided in Ontario.

A mother of two boys complained to our Office when she had trouble changing her children’s names on their birth certificates, documents they needed soon to make a trip to Disneyland in the U.S.

An almost-retired man who wanted to get a passport to travel sought our help after three frustrating years of trying to obtain a birth certificate from the Office of the Registrar General.

A man sought our help with his local hydro company, which was sending him late notices and charging him interest on his quarterly water heater rental bill.

A woman was trying without success to have hydro reconnected at a rental property and was concerned about a delay and lack of communication from the local hydro company.

A man who has physical disabilities and cancer was issued a grant from the province’s Home and Vehicle Modification Program (HVMP) to build a porch lift at his home.

A man who built an apartment building on a vacant lot in 2012 sought our help with MPAC regarding the adjusted assessment value of his property.

After waiting many months for a response from Ministry officials about his experience, a man who had to relocate from Northern Ontario to Toronto for a lung transplant finally had his voice heard through our Office.

A divorced recipient of Trillium Drug Plan coverage complained to us that his access to the benefit was affected because his ex-wife would not provide a letter stating that he was no longer covered by her private insurance.

A woman contacted our Office after learning her OHIP coverage had been suspended while she was studying outside of Ontario, despite the fact that she had emailed her renewal documents to OHIP several times.

When a woman hit a pothole on a county road that damaged her vehicle, she tried to seek reimbursement.

An inmate who tried repeatedly to get information from the Ministry of Transportation about his driving record and other issues complained that he could not get information from officials during the 20 minutes of phone time he was allowed.

A woman seeking to renew her driver’s licence was given a temporary one, valid for three months, and told her new licence would be mailed in 6-8 weeks.

An elderly woman contacted us after she was unable to get provincial officials to respond to her about a blocked highway culvert near her home that had become a mosquito breeding ground.

An Ontario man who had temporarily moved to B.C. was told upon his return that his motorcycle licence had been cancelled and he would have to go through the testing process again.

A mother of three who was enrolled in a combined college and university nursing program was not allowed to progress to the university portion of the program because her grade in a college course was 1.5% below the required threshold.

A university student contacted our Office with several concerns, including a stalled academic appeal, the conduct of one of his professors, administrative fees, and the university’s unwillingness to release his official transcript.

A father contacted us after he went to pick up his daughters at their after-school program and discovered they were off premises without any prior notice.

Our staff helped two parents whose local school board wanted to charge them more than $6,000 in tuition for their son because his legal guardian lived outside of Ontario – even though the boy did not live with the guardian.

A mother of two sought our help after she was unable to get a response from her school board about why she could not get busing for her four-year-old son, even though her eight-year-old son was being bused to a school closer to home.

A man contacted us after getting no response to a complaint about his local Chief Building Official.

A woman renting a basement apartment sought our help after a municipal construction crew broke a water pipe near her unit, flooding her apartment and damaging her belongings.

We helped a man who waited more than a year to hear back from his municipality about purchasing a portion of the laneway behind his house.

A mall developer told us that local councillors were interfering with the development of her project, but she believed the municipality did not have a code of conduct or integrity commissioner.

A mother and adult daughter, both ODSP recipients who live together, complained to us about a mixup after the daughter successfully applied for ODSP for herself from a different office than the one where her mother was a client.

A man whose shelter allowance was terminated by the ODSP without notice complained to us after his case worker did not respond to several email messages.

We helped sort out a case of mistaken identity between the FRO and a man who could not insure his house because a writ was registered in his name for unpaid support obligations – even though it was his brother who actually owed support arrears.

A man contacted our office after the FRO issued an order to garnish his Old Age Security payments and his federal pension, according to a court order from 1982.

A woman who was owed more than $17,000 in spousal and child support came to our Office for help in liaising with FRO officials.

An ODSP recipient complained to us about the Social Justice Tribunal of Ontario’s decision on her eligibility for the ODSP’s Work-Related Benefit.

We referred a man to the right internal complaint mechanism at the Office of the Children’s Lawyer so he could voice concerns about delays in receiving documents and in setting his court date, all of which resulted in added legal costs for him.

A man serving weekend time in jail who required anxiety medication three times a day sought our help because the correctional facility would not give him his medication on Saturday mornings when he arrived, or on Sunday evenings before he left.

We helped a woman from Manitoba who had struggled for six months to get Legal Aid Ontario to recognize her approval for legal aid in a custody case in Ontario.

A woman who broke her collarbone before she was sent to jail complained to us that she had been waiting for eight days for a sling for her arm.

A man contacted our Office in frustration after the WSIAT heard only one of several claims he had filed, when he was expecting to have them all heard at the same time.

After a man complained to us that his municipality had not responded to his letter about flood damage to his basement, municipal staff initially told us they didn’t answer because they deemed the complaint to be without merit.

A mortgage broker sought our help with a delay in renewing his licence through FSCO. His brokerage firm had missed the deadline to pay the $800 renewal fee to FSCO, which in turn failed to process the renewal before his licence expired.

A man who had a complaint about his municipality’s chief building official contacted our Office because his municipality did not have a code of conduct in place, even though this is required by the Building Code Act.

A driver who moved to Ontario from British Columbia complained to our office that his job was at risk because of an impaired driving conviction from 13 years earlier.

The parent of a high school student with autism spectrum disorder contacted us after she was informed by her son’s school that he would not receive credit for one of his courses because he had not met course expectations.

A woman whose migraine medication is covered through the Exceptional Access Program contacted us because she was worried about how long it was taking the program to approve a renewal of her prescription.

A woman who was owed more than $100,000 in support payments complained to us about FRO’s lack of enforcement action against her ex-husband, even though she had provided information about his assets, finance and employment situation.

A man who had lost all of his identification a few years earlier sought our help because he was unable to get health coverage through OHIP.

A woman who had surrendered her driver’s licence for medical reasons complained to us that she was having trouble obtaining a photo identification card from ServiceOntario.

A student complained to us that his university had failed to respond to him on several matters, including a grade appeal, requests for a bursary and a refund for a dropped course.

After an ODSP recipient left her case worker a message asking about reporting employment income, she was surprised to discover her benefit entitlement was suspended.

The mother of a five-year-old girl with medical needs enrolled her in a special program after she was told a bus monitor would be assigned to administer the child’s medication if needed.

An inmate who was 29 weeks into a high-risk pregnancy contacted us in fear that she would lose her baby due to lack of care. She complained of delays in being referred to prenatal appointments, in being taken to hospital, and in accessing her health record.

In 2001, after years of using his stepfather’s surname, a man decided to revert to his original birth surname. He was issued a short-form Ontario birth certificate reflecting the change.

The parents of two adult sons with highly complex medical needs and developmental disabilities contacted our Office because they felt they were in crisis. They wanted to continue to care for their sons at home, but were experiencing their own health challenges.

A student who moved back home to live with her parents in the last semester of her two-year college program complained that her OSAP funding was denied.

A man who needed a new driver’s licence for work complained to our Office that he could not get one because he didn’t have adequate photo identification.

A man was upset that it took the Ontario Electricity Support Program six months to process his application, even though its website says it should take 6-8 weeks.

The widow of a man killed in a workplace accident complained to us that WSIB would not extend survivor benefits to her son, because it had no evidence that the worker, who was not the boy’s biological father, was his legal parent at the time of the accident.

A man complained to his municipality after a member of council called him names in an email. He was not satisfied when the mayor offered to bring him and the councillor together for a private meeting.

An inmate who had been in segregation for nine months – because the facility had concerns about his and others’ safety and security – complained to our office that it was harming his mental health and he needed to see a psychiatrist.

A man contacted our Office after his municipality closed and sold a road allowance adjacent to his property. His family had used the land to access the river, but they were not notified by the municipality or given the chance to purchase a portion of the land, contrary to municipal policy.

An inmate with diabetes who needed to take insulin before his meals complained to our office that correctional staff could only give it to him after meals.

A Toronto woman who was seeking rapid reinstatement of ODSP benefits was staying with a relative in Oshawa while undergoing medical treatment. The ODSP office in Oshawa told her she would have to apply through their Toronto office – but she was too ill to travel, and worried that she could not make ends meet without benefits.

A student who had been expelled from university after an academic fraud inquiry complained to us that the university failed to respond to its own ombudsman’s report on his case, which raised concerns about the fairness of the inquiry and the sanctions it imposed.

We received complaints from four residents in one building who each received catch-up bills from their municipal hydro company for $2,000-5,000.

A student enrolled in a college’s early childhood education program, but was unable to attend. She did inform the college, but because she missed the deadline to withdraw from the course.

A man who needed to renew his Ontario Security Guard licence for work contacted our Office for help in speeding up the process with the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

A transgender man complained to our Office because he was having difficulty obtaining an updated birth certificate from the Registrar General.

After living on the streets for many years, a man sought our help in obtaining valid identification so he could apply for full-time work.

A man with a visual impairment complained to our Office that an LCBO cashier would not sell him wine unless his 19-year-old son, who was not making a purchase but only accompanying him to provide assistance, showed identification.

After members of her family complained to our Office, we discovered the OPGT had made numerous errors in managing a woman’s affairs – failing to pay her mortgage and utilities for several months.

After narrowly escaping being hit by an Ontario Northland Railway train near her home, a woman requested an automatic signal be installed to prevent future incidents.

After a 30-day suspension, a woman visited a ServiceOntario office and paid the $150 fee to have her licence reinstated.

A senior complained that after he sent a medical report to the Ministry as required for his driver’s licence, he was told it could not be found and he would have to submit it again.

A senior contacted our Office after restrictions were placed on his visits with his wife at her long-term care home, after he raised concerns with a nurse about his wife’s care.

A man whose home and important documents were destroyed by fire complained that he was having trouble renewing his Ontario health card.

After the Trillium Drug Program denied a woman drug benefits that she had previously received, our staff raised the case with a senior analyst at the Ministry, who found the information she had submitted about her private insurer’s drug coverage had been inconsistent.

A woman complained to our Office on behalf of her 34-year-old daughter, who requires a specially-made drug at a cost of $200 per month.

A mother whose son has a developmental disability and is medically fragile complained that her son’s medication costs were no longer being covered since he had been placed in a group home funded by the Ministry of Community and Social Services.

A man complained to our Office about the WSIB after he had not received an update on his compensation application for almost a year.

A man complained after he received a municipal hydro bill of $1,300, when his normal monthly bill was around $29.

A homeowner complained that a $1,950 fee he paid to make a severance application was not refunded when his application was denied.

A man told our Office he had tried for 10 years to find out why the municipality removed the snow from the sidewalk in front of his neighbours’ homes, but not his.

A distance education student complained he was asked to pay fees for various services only available on campus, such as student lifestyle fees.

A would-be Bachelor of Education student complained that he was denied admission because of a mistake in his application due to a miscommunication with the university.

A student complained that he had failed a course due to false information provided to his professor by a teaching assistant.

A PhD student who was given no opportunity to repeat his final exam when he failed on his first try after 16 months of course work complained to our Office that he had hit a dead end in the university’s appeal process.

After a teacher-in-charge kept a student out of class for more than two hours over an incident, the student’s mother complained to us about the board’s response to her concerns.

The mother of a kindergarten student with special needs complained that her son’s bus was repeatedly late and that he had once been dropped off at the wrong address.

The mother of a Grade 4 student was concerned for her son’s safety because he had to cross a busy intersection on his walk to school.

A mother of a teenage boy with autism sought our Office’s help after her son was restricted to 45 minutes of school per day due to behavioural issues.

A woman complained to us after trying for months to get a school board to respond to her safety concerns about vehicles regularly driving up onto a curb on school property near an entrance for young children.

An Everest College student who was away from the school on medical leave when it abruptly closed was turned down for assistance in enrolling in a new program because his college record did not list him as an active student at the time of the closure.

A mother who had been commuting two hours every day to attend classes at an Everest College campus applied for funding to resume her studies elsewhere after the college closed.

A student who bought $1,000 worth of textbooks for her studies at the suddenly-closed Everest College complained that foot-dragging by officials at the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities caused her to miss a deadline to receive a 60% refund on the books, which were now worthless to her.

A college student who was taking “compressed” courses over the summer questioned why she didn’t qualify for full-time OSAP funding, as her college had previously determined that her compressed course load made her eligible.

A woman on a waiting list for a popular, limited-enrolment college program called our Office for help when she could not get any information from the college about whether she had been accepted.

A woman who was seriously injured in a car accident complained that she waited seven months to receive her application for ODSP benefits.

A mother whose support payments from her ex-husband were collected through an enforcement agency in the U.S. complained that the FRO would not release any of it to her because it didn’t have the necessary documentation from a U.S. court.

A mother of two complained that FRO officials had not done enough to collect the more than $30,000 in support owed by her ex-husband, even though they knew where he worked.

A father contacted us from jail after he was arrested for failing to pay child support arrears to the Family Responsibility Office.

An inmate complained that he had sat in jail for days after becoming eligible for parole because a parole hearing had not been scheduled for him.

A senior who was charged with threatening police complained that Legal Aid Ontario told him he was no longer eligible for their services after the Crown decided it would not seek to put him in jail if convicted.

A father contacted us when the principal at his daughter’s school told him she could no longer attend the school, since the family lived outside the catchment area.

A man complained to us that he received a water bill and a late payment penalty even though he had a $600 credit with the utility. Our staff contacted the municipality and discovered that the man’s original account had been closed and a new account had been set up without the credit being transferred over.

A woman applied for Ontario Works benefits and was told she qualified for $1,850 to cover the first and last month's rent payments for an apartment she was moving into in August.

A student complained that one of his female classmates was refused entry into class for having her shoulders exposed.

A woman complained to us after she and her husband received a ‘Notice of Prohibition of Entry’ from a board in October 2012, with no end date or written rationale provided.

A woman complained to us after her acceptance into a university program through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC), was somehow not processed, meaning she lost her spot and was put on a wait list.

A ​woman who was working temporarily in Ontario and renting a house with no private parking complained to us when the municipality denied her a street parking permit because her vehicle had out-of-province plates.

A mother felt that her daughter's school board didn't follow its own rules after she tried to appeal a change to her daughter's school bus route, which effectively doubled the amount of time her daughter spent on the bus.

A parent complained to our office after a school board decided to move their child's bus stop 300 metres to a busier intersection.

A town clerk contacted our office after the local council, which was considering establishing a code of conduct, expressed the view that it did not need to appoint an Integrity Commissioner, because any complaints related to the code of conduct could be forwarded to the Ombudsman for review.

A would-be Bachelor of Education student complained that he was denied admission because he included a one-on-one teaching experience in his application - he said the university did not make it clear that he should not do so.

A parent complained to our office after the school board looked into her conflict-of-interest complaint about two trustees who participated in decisions to close a local high school.

A woman contacted our Office when she discovered the school board would only bus her granddaughter to a school that was more than twice as far away as the next closest option.

A homeless teenager who could not live with either parent was denied assistance through Ontario Works and was not provided with anything in writing about how to appeal the decision.

We received a complaint that several students in the same neighbourhood were deemed ineligible for busing despite believing they lived within the school's distance requirements policy, and that the board would not provide the walk distance calculation to the complainant or other parents.

We received complaints of alleged violations of the councillor code of conduct in a township.

A teenage boy with autism who was only permitted to attend class for 45 minutes a day due to aggression issues was refusing to return to school because of an incident when police were called.

A primary school student with special needs was put on a waiting list for placement in a support program for children with autism. The boy's mother was told that a spot was unlikely to become available soon. Concerned that her child's needs were not being met, she escalated her concerns with the school board and then called our Office.

The mother of a kindergartner with special needs contacted the Office with concerns about busing services.

A mother was concerned about the lack of support and funding for her 19-year-old son, who has autism and aggressive behavioural issues. He had recently been taken to hospital by police after an incident when he became agitated and violent.

A woman turned to the Ombudsman for help when she had trouble renewing her Ontario Health Insurance Plan coverage. She had been living with friends and was struggling to provide proof that she was an Ontario resident so she could renew her OHIP card before it expired on September 30.

A woman was frustrated and confused by a dramatic increase in her electricity bills after her meter was changed in August 2013 – from $244 that July, to $403 in August, and up to $1,700 in January 2014.

A farmer was concerned about the high electricity bills he received for the first six months of 2014, even though his corn dryer – the machine on his farm using the highest amount of electricity – wasn’t in use. His bills were close to $9,000, including $843 in delivery charges on $112 worth of electricity.

The aunt and uncle of a 16-year-old boy with Down Syndrome needed help finding the boy a place to live after his mother died of cancer. They were concerned that they would not be able to care for him because they lived 270 kilometres away, both worked odd hours, and, due to their age, wouldn’t be able to look after him on a long-term basis.

A woman whose teeth had been damaged as a result of physical abuse by her partner years earlier contacted the Ombudsman for help in obtaining funds to have them fixed.

Three months after his partner died, a widower contacted us because he had not received the coroner’s report, despite writing the local coroner’s office twice. His partner had died of what appeared to be a drug overdose and he needed the coroner’s report to obtain life insurance payments.

A woman complained to the Ombudsman in May 2013 that her ex-husband owed $46,000 in spousal support and the FRO was not enforcing a court order that he pay it.

A woman came to us after she could not reach her ODSP case worker for two months. The woman was receiving Employment Insurance benefits of $295 per week, which were deducted from her monthly ODSP cheque of $1,842, but they had ended two months earlier. Despite this, the ODSP continued to take deductions from her cheque.

A man contacted our Office in frustration when the Ministry repeatedly sent mail to his address for a former tenant. He had returned the envelopes several times with a note stating “this person does not reside at this address,” but the Ministry mail did not stop.

A woman who was experiencing a third occurrence of HER2-positive breast cancer was denied funding by the Ministry for the chemotherapy drug Kadcyla, although it was prescribed by her oncologist. The Ministry would fund the drug for women experiencing a second occurrence of the disease, but not a third – despite scientific evidence that women with third and even fourth occurrences did benefit from the drug.

A 62-year-old woman with Crohn’s disease required infusions every eight weeks at a cost of $4,542.76 per treatment. The woman’s private insurance covered 80% of the costs, while the Trillium Drug Program reimbursed her for the remainder, but she was reaching the lifetime maximum for her private insurance coverage and it was about to end.

After the removal of a benign brain tumour, a woman in her 20s suffered a stroke that left her unsteady on her feet, needing assistance to use the bathroom, and with speech difficulties. She had to be hospitalized several times and was placed in the complex care unit of a local hospital for four months.

An inmate was told after a colonoscopy that he likely had bowel cancer and would need surgery immediately – within a week. However, the jail’s doctor told him the facility had no paperwork from the specialist, and it would be up to four weeks before he could even get an appointment for surgery.

A student from outside of Canada, who was married to a Canadian citizen, chose to enter the country on an international student visa because it would be processed faster than her spousal visa.

The mother of a young man with significant mental health problems came to the Ombudsman because her son, who was receiving ODSP benefits, had been threatened with eviction from his group home because his rent had not been paid via ODSP.

The family of a 69-year-old woman with developmental disabilities contacted the Ombudsman because they could no longer care for her. She was in hospital after she was assaulted at her day program, but would have nowhere to live after she was discharged.

A new driver complained to our Office after waiting six months for his permanent driver’s licence. He had passed the written test and turned over his Ontario-issued government photo ID to ServiceOntario, expecting a replacement card in the mail, but he never received it.

 

After a woman was denied funding for a drug to treat neuropathic pain, her husband came to the Ombudsman for help. The woman has a rare neurological disease and her condition, which is considered palliative, means she has considerable muscle and nerve pain. One of the drugs that helped her pain, Sativex, was only approved for patients with multiple sclerosis, or palliative cancer patients with refractory pain.

 

An inmate had been waiting for months to have a wisdom tooth extracted and was in severe pain, to the point where he had fainted and had to be sent to hospital.

A man contacted our Office because he suspected the Family Responsibility Office had miscalculated the amount he owed for child and spousal support by almost $3,800. He had written the FRO three times in the past 18 months, but it did not acknowledge his letters or adjust his account.

A 65-year-old man had his driver’s licence suspended in May 2014 after hospital staff reported to the Ministry of Transportation that he had suffered a fall that knocked him unconscious. After this incident, the man provided the Ministry with letters from three different doctors confirming he was in good health, but two months later, his licence was still suspended.

The owner of a home for adults with mental health issues contacted the Ombudsman, frustrated that he couldn’t get ODSP or Developmental Services Ontario (DSO) to provide funding to take one of his residents to her cancer treatments.

After signing up for “Back on Track,” a remedial program for people convicted of impaired driving, a man phoned the program to book a one-hour assessment interview. He was given the choice of several time slots. He arrived at 3:30 on the appointed day, believing he was half an hour early for the 4 p.m. slot. Instead, he was told the interview had actually been booked for 3 p.m.

A single mother complained to the Ombudsman that she hadn’t received child support payments in six months, despite her daughter, a post-secondary student, still living at home. The father lived in B.C., and as long as the daughter attended school and lived with her mother, he was required to pay monthly support payments.

A mother complained to the Ombudsman after she was forced to pay $7,000 for a spot for her adult daughter in a residential treatment program for women with substance abuse issues.

A mother contacted us in frustration because she couldn’t get help for her nine-year-old daughter, who had been severely bullied and injured at school, and was expressing thoughts of self-harm.

 

A driver who suffered what he believed to be a seizure in April 2013 was diagnosed by a neurologist and, as required by the Ministry of Transportation, had his licence suspended pending a medical review. On October 28, 2013, his doctor faxed documentation to the Ministry to prove that he had been seizure-free for six months, and thus eligible to have his licence reinstated.