A woman came to us after trying for nine months to get an error corrected on her mother’s death certificate. Her mother’s birthplace was incorrect on the document, and this was causing issues in managing her estate. Result: We raised the issue with officials at the Registrar General, who agreed to …
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A woman came to us after trying for nine months to get an error corrected on her mother’s death certificate.
/en/our-work/case-stories/resolved-gratitude
Payment found
After four years of trying to change her legal last name, including a trip to India to get an affidavit verifying her name change from a previous marriage, a woman came to us for help. Result: We discovered the woman’s file was stalled because her payment to the Registrar General for the name …
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After four years of trying to change her legal last name, including a trip to India to get an affidavit verifying her name change from a previous marriage, a woman came to us for help.
/en/our-work/case-stories/payment-found
Certified win
A man with a winning lottery ticket came to us for help after the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation refused to release the six-figure prize to him because the only identification he had was an old and damaged birth certificate. He told us he had tried for months to get a new one, but the …
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A man with a winning lottery ticket came to us for help after the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation refused to release the six-figure prize to him because the only identification he had was an old and damaged birth certificate.
/en/our-work/case-stories/certified-win
First Nations birth certificates
We helped a First Nations community experiencing administrative barriers to obtaining birth certificates, which are generally required for people to access government services and programs. We were told that these barriers included an online registration process that was sometimes difficult to …
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We helped a First Nations community experiencing administrative barriers to obtaining birth certificates, which are generally required for people to access government services and programs.
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. We discovered that the original handwritten marriage certificate had the correct spelling, but her name had been incorrectly typed into …
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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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/married-name-mishap
At long last
We heard from a man who was waiting for a new long-form birth certificate for his son. He had been told to send the Registrar General some information that was missing from his initial application, but after he did so, he got no confirmation that it arrived. When we checked with Registrar General …
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We heard from a man who was waiting for a new long-form birth certificate for his son.
/en/our-work/case-stories/long-last
Writing wrongs
A man came to us for help when a problem with his birth certificate prevented him from applying for federal employment insurance (EI). He was told there were inconsistencies with his parents’ names on his documents – but he couldn’t get further details from ServiceOntario. RESULT: Our inquiries …
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A man came to us for help when a problem with his birth certificate prevented him from applying for federal employment insurance (EI).
/en/our-work/case-stories/writing-wrongs
What’s in a name?
A woman who immigrated to Canada as a child sought our help in changing her name on official documents. The Office of the Registrar General had raised questions because the name on her birth certificate and certificate of landing in Canada differed from that on later documents, when her mother …
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A woman who immigrated to Canada as a child sought our help in changing her name on official documents.
/en/our-work/case-stories/whats-name
Copy that
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). She then tried to apply for …
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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).
/en/our-work/case-stories/copy
Birth displace
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. She was rejected in both provinces – because she didn’t currently live in Ontario, and because her birth certificate wasn’t issued in Quebec. Officials …
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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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/birth-displace
Apply, return, repeat
A mother contacted us in frustration after waiting several months for her son’s name change to be processed. She had already submitted a notarized application on his behalf twice, seeking to change the name on his birth certificate to reflect his gender identity. When the second submission was …
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A mother contacted us in frustration after waiting several months for her son’s name change to be processed.
/en/our-work/case-stories/apply-return-repeat
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. Our inquiries with the Registrar General’s office revealed that the documents were stalled in its system …
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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.
One man from a city in Ukraine that had been evacuated told us the Ministry of Transportation would not validate his Ukrainian licence and driving experience without a letter from the Ukrainian government – something he felt would not be feasible due to the war. He was told the letter was required …
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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 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. He complained that this additional requirement was …
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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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/bad-form
Double time
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. Our inquiries revealed that the Registrar General routinely processed a person’s Statement of Death form separately from their Medical Certificate …
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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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/double-time
At your service
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. He also told us that he had received poor customer service while seeking assistance. We contacted the Ministry of Government and …
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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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/your-service
Proven parenthood
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. Registrar General officials told him one of the forms he had filled out was invalid, and he would have to …
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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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/proven-parenthood
Post-mortem correction
A woman sought our help in getting the Registrar General to help her correct an error she made on her mother’s death certificate. When we inquired about the delay in processing her request, we discovered that staff there had misspelled her name on the file. Both errors were addressed, and she was …
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A woman sought our help in getting the Registrar General to help her correct an error she made on her mother’s death certificate.
/en/our-work/case-stories/post-mortem-correction
Starting anew
A man complained to us after trying for years to resolve a name discrepancy with ServiceOntario. Our inquiries with the Ministry of Transportation, ServiceOntario and the Registrar General revealed that ServiceOntario had processed his request to change his name on his driver’s licence. However, he …
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A man complained to us after trying for years to resolve a name discrepancy with ServiceOntario.
/en/our-work/case-stories/starting-anew
Extended parking
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. We confirmed with ServiceOntario that in fact, the woman’s doctor had provided new information indicating that she …
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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.
