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Healthy extension

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. She feared this would affect her health coverage, as she was told she would have to apply for a passport in her birth country and then apply …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/healthy-extension

No surrender

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. Drivers whose licences are suspended because of demerit points are required to surrender them in person at ServiceOntario centres or mail them to the Ministry. However, …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/no-surrender

Experience counts

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. His experience should have qualified him immediately for a G2 licence (the second of three steps in Ontario’s graduated licence program) and allowed him …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/experience-counts

Kept in suspense

A driver whose licence was suspended as a result of a criminal charge successfully appealed the charge and had it removed from his record. He was told by ServiceOntario staff that the licence would be reinstated within 2-3 days. He complained to us when, several weeks later, he was charged with …
A driver whose licence was suspended as a result of a criminal charge successfully appealed the charge and had it removed from his record.
/en/our-work/case-stories/kept-suspense

Letter imperfect

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. She was told that she had run out of funding, even though she thought she still had money …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/letter-imperfect

Failed to send

An Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipient complained to us that her benefits had been cut off twice without warning. We made inquiries with ODSP officials, who determined that the woman should have received written notice that they were withholding benefits because they needed …
An Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipient complained to us that her benefits had been cut off twice without warning.
/en/our-work/case-stories/failed-send

After-life support

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. Our staff flagged the case as urgent to …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/after-life-support

Dogged determination

Issues: Disability; Rights (Identity) 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. She raised the issue with the home, which agreed to develop a new policy regarding service dogs, which they provided to us. …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/dogged-determination

Talk or else

Issues: Group home; Rights (Good care); Rights (Safety) 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. He said they threatened to remove privileges, like making calls to his parents or using an iPad, …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/talk-or-else

Culture change

Issues: Children’s aid society; Black youth; Rights (Identity); Rights (Get help); Rights (Fairness)  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 …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/culture-change

Trucker stop

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. He had passed the training and road test, but was told he was no longer eligible to receive his …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/trucker-stop

Slow off the marks

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. He complained that the college did not respond to his inquiries until June, and did not provide …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/slow-marks

Process upgrade

A university student who had completed two years of courses applied for late withdrawal because of a previously undiagnosed mental illness. She sought our help after the university’s academic appeals committee denied her request and she was given a failing grade. Our review of the committee’s …
A university student who had completed two years of courses applied for late withdrawal because of a previously undiagnosed mental illness.
/en/our-work/case-stories/process-upgrade

Cleared up

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. We were told the water was safe, but discoloured because of a new chemical treatment method. The agency said …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/cleared

Information flow

More than 30 people from the same municipality sought our help with concerns about leaking water pipes. They complained that their calls to the municipality were not returned, and it provided no information on its website about what to do when they found a leak, how to have pipes repaired when they …
More than 30 people from the same municipality sought our help with concerns about leaking water pipes.
/en/our-work/case-stories/information-flow

Bad signs

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. When we raised the issue with city officials, they confirmed there was a mix of “no stopping” and “no parking” signs in the area. They decided to refund the man’s …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/bad-signs

Process undermined

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. Our review revealed that the municipality had not established a clear complaints procedure or communicated how people should raise their …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/process-undermined

Under the gun

We received numerous complaints in 2020-2021 about delays in approvals by Ontario’s Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) for transfers of restricted firearms. We learned that this backlog was largely due to COVID-19, as the office was struggling with staff shortages and technological limitations related to …
We received numerous complaints in 2020-2021 about delays in approvals by Ontario’s Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) for transfers of restricted firearms.
/en/our-work/case-stories/under-gun

Report duty

An inmate sought our help after he was involved in an altercation with another inmate and then pepper sprayed and assaulted by correctional officers. He had reported the assault to health care staff, but our review showed that they did not report the incident to superiors as required by Ministry …
An inmate sought our help after he was involved in an altercation with another inmate and then pepper sprayed and assaulted by correctional officers.
/en/our-work/case-stories/report-duty

Search terms

Several inmates in the same facility complained to us that they were strip searched in a main hallway, in view of security cameras. Ministry policy requires that searches be conducted in an area and a manner that preserves inmates’ privacy and dignity. Our inquiries led us to escalate the matter to …
Several inmates in the same facility complained to us that they were strip searched in a main hallway, in view of security cameras.
/en/our-work/case-stories/search-terms