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The Ombudsman investigates individual complaints and major systemic issues under the Ombudsman Act. He also investigates complaints about closed municipal meetings under the Municipal Act. To learn more, read about closed meeting cases or find your closed meeting investigator. Use the filters to find the reports and case studies you are looking for.
April 29, 2022
29 April 2022
A resident who wanted to subscribe to a Durham Region newsletter from Metrolinx was disappointed to learn that it wasn’t available in French.
March 31, 2022
31 March 2022
Investigation into Laurentian University’s cuts to French-language programming during restructuring and into the administration of the university’s designation by the Ministry of Francophone Affairs and the Ministry of Colleges and Universities
March 23, 2022
23 March 2022
We were contacted by a person who requested a bilingual hearing at a courthouse in Northern Ontario.
January 28, 2022
28 January 2022
A man contacted the provincial COVID-19 vaccine online system by phone and chose the "French" option to request his proof of vaccination by mail.
December 7, 2021
7 December 2021
Commissioner's Message - Taking Care of Ontario's Linguistic Health This is the second Annual Report of the French Language Services Commissioner presented by the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario. As we look back on the past year, we are more motivated than ever by the opportunity we have, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, to find effective solutions to the challenges we confront.
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).
November 29, 2021
29 November 2021
A Francophone woman contacted our Office to report that she had to be transferred twice on the phone before she could speak to a bilingual staff member on a call to her local Home and Community Care Support Services (HCSS) agency.
October 27, 2021
27 October 2021
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.
September 29, 2021
29 September 2021
The French Language Services Unit has received several complaints about the Amber alert system.
August 24, 2021
24 August 2021
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.
May 26, 2021
26 May 2021
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.
April 30, 2021
30 April 2021
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.
March 30, 2021
30 March 2021
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.
February 25, 2021
25 February 2021
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).
January 29, 2021
29 January 2021
After requesting information from the Ministry of Health in French and receiving answers in English twice, a Francophone journalist complained to our Office.
December 10, 2020
10 December 2020
Commissioner's Message - Two watchdogs, one access point On January 13, 2020, I officially took up my duties as French Language Services Commissioner, following a rigorous selection process conducted across the country by the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario.
November 24, 2020
24 November 2020
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.
September 29, 2020
29 September 2020
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.
August 28, 2020
28 August 2020
With the current pandemic and the necessity to work from home, using conference call lines has become the norm in many organizations.
July 31, 2020
31 July 2020
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.
May 29, 2020
29 May 2020
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.
March 27, 2020
27 March 2020
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.
January 31, 2020
31 January 2020
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.
November 29, 2019
29 November 2019
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.
October 31, 2019
31 October 2019
A French-speaking woman sought our help after she encountered difficulties with the website of the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office.
September 30, 2019
30 September 2019
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.
August 30, 2019
30 August 2019
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.