2022

December 12, 2022

12 December 2022

Translation audit-y

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.

December 12, 2022

12 December 2022

Language integrity

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.”

December 12, 2022

12 December 2022

Equivalent access to information

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

December 12, 2022

12 December 2022

“Please speak in English”

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

December 12, 2022

12 December 2022

Positive result

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

December 12, 2022

12 December 2022

Services in French at home

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.

December 12, 2022

12 December 2022

Skills in French required

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.

December 12, 2022

12 December 2022

Entitled to inclusion

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.

December 12, 2022

12 December 2022

“Help wanted” in both languages

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

December 12, 2022

12 December 2022

Without subtitles

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].”

November 24, 2022

24 November 2022

Uninterrupted visits

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)

October 18, 2022

18 October 2022

Help is en route

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.

September 29, 2022

29 September 2022

Continuing education

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

The right to know

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Supplemental care

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

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Email retrieved

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

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Voting rights – and wrongs

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Culvert conundrum

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Personal reasons

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Triple trouble

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Paying the piper

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

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Far and unfair

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Vaccination pass

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Conversion confusion

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Please remain seated

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Power arrangers

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

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Found money

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

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Breaking the bank

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Voicemail jail

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

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Post-mortem refund

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Finally heard

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Up in smoke

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Pardon the delay

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Slow-speed cheque

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

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Clean record

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Fax confirmed

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Address unknown

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Form fix

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

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Deductible decision

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

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Tell us more

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

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Extension explained

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Second chance

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

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Septic solution

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

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Debris debacle

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Errant pass

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Delay of name

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.

August 10, 2022

10 August 2022

Apply, return, repeat

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

July 20, 2022

20 July 2022

Timely help

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)

June 30, 2022

30 June 2022

Please try again later

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

May 31, 2022

31 May 2022

Helping displaced Ukrainians obtain driver's licences

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.

May 19, 2022

19 May 2022

French connections

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.

April 29, 2022

29 April 2022

ID help

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)

April 29, 2022

29 April 2022

Transit news, now bilingual

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.

March 23, 2022

23 March 2022

In French, please, Your Honour

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

March 23, 2022

23 March 2022

A helping hand

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)

 

February 25, 2022

25 February 2022

Refusal reversed

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)

January 31, 2022

31 January 2022

Overcoming obstacles

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

Issue: Rights (Get help)

January 28, 2022

28 January 2022

For follow-up in French, press 2

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