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Direct education payment programs

Media release, "Ombudsman to investigate direct education payment programs" (December 11, 2023) Investigation into the Ministry of Education’s direct payment programs for parents and students. Announced December 11, 2023. Case update (2024-2025 Annual Report) Case update (2023-2024 Annual Report) … …
/en/our-work/investigations/ongoing-investigations/direct-education-payment-programs

Work permit woes

A student from abroad whose attendance at an Ontario university was dependent on his father’s federal work permit needed our help when the extension of his father’s permit was delayed. If his parent could not produce a current work permit, the university would charge him the tuition fee of an …
A student from abroad whose attendance at an Ontario university was dependent on his father’s federal work permit needed our help when the extension of his father’s permit was delayed.
/en/our-work/case-stories/work-permit-woes

Resolved with gratitude

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 …
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

Transcript tribulations

A man hoping to return to university needed a college transcript for courses he had taken several decades ago. He had been trying for more than two months to get a copy of his transcript, even though the college’s typical turnaround time for such requests was 7-10 days. Result: We raised his case …
A man hoping to return to university needed a college transcript for courses he had taken several decades ago.
/en/our-work/case-stories/transcript-tribulations

Credit carryover

A student came to us for help after trying for months to get her out-of-province post-secondary credits recognized by her Ontario college of applied arts and technology. Result: After we intervened, the college agreed to review the coursework and confirmed with the student that her out-of-province …
A student came to us for help after trying for months to get her out-of-province post-secondary credits recognized by her Ontario college of applied arts and technology.
/en/our-work/case-stories/credit-carryover

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 …
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

Without consent

A First Nations grandparent complained to us after a school board used medicated lice shampoo on one grandchild and attempted to use it on another, both times without consent. The grandparent likened this action to past treatment of Indigenous students in residential schools. Result: The family …
A First Nations grandparent complained to us after a school board used medicated lice shampoo on one grandchild and attempted to use it on another, both times without consent.
/en/our-work/case-stories/without-consent

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 …
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 …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/first-nations-birth-certificates

Married name mishap

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 …
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 …
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 …
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

Helpful information

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. The college told him he had missed its deadline to withdraw and receive a refund. He asked our Office for help, saying the financial …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/helpful-information

Fair trade

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. His college had given him under 48 hours to accept an opportunity to complete additional …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/fair-trade

Course correction

A group of 50 students at a university reached out to our Office for help after they all failed the same course. The students, most of whom were international students, raised concerns about the instruction, grades and feedback they received from the university, and the financial consequences of …
A group of 50 students at a university reached out to our Office for help after they all failed the same course.
/en/our-work/case-stories/course-correction

Submission to the Ministry of Education regarding integrity commissioners and meeting procedures for school board trustees

Submission to the Ministry of Education regarding integrity commissioners and meeting procedures for school board trustees Paul Dubé Ombudsman of Ontario April 2024 Overview The Ministry of Education has requested comments on three regulatory proposals related to school board governance and …
The Ministry of Education has requested comments on three regulatory proposals related to school board governance and accountability.
/en/our-work/submissions-government/submission-ministry-education-regarding-integrity-commissioners-and-meeting-procedures-school-board

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 …
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 …
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 …
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

Going the extra mile

A mother complained to us that her child’s school bus route was far too long, averaging four hours per day. We spoke to the school board superintendent, who said a driver shortage was affecting the route, but the local transportation consortium was working to hire and train new drivers. The …
A mother complained to us that her child’s school bus route was far too long, averaging four hours per day.
/en/our-work/case-stories/going-extra-mile