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.
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 …
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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.
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.
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).
Motorcycle mix-up
A man noticed that the driver’s licence he’d had for four years did not indicate that he was also qualified to drive a motorcycle. He told us that DriveTest and the Ministry said his only recourse was to start the motorcycle licensing process all over again. RESULT: After we intervened, Ministry …
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A man noticed that the driver’s licence he’d had for four years did not indicate that he was also qualified to drive a motorcycle.
Kept in suspense
A senior sought our help when his driver’s licence was suspended, just seven months after he had gone through an extensive process with the Driver Medical Review Office to get it reinstated. RESULT: When we raised the case with Ministry officials, they clarified that although they had asked the man …
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A senior sought our help when his driver’s licence was suspended, just seven months after he had gone through an extensive process with the Driver Medical Review Office to get it reinstated.
Correcting the record
A transgender woman who changed the name and sex designation on her driver’s licence contacted us in frustration after being told that her car insurance would now cost more. She said that in making the changes, the Ministry had given her an entirely new licence number, which was no longer connected …
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A transgender woman who changed the name and sex designation on her driver’s licence contacted us in frustration after being told that her car insurance would now cost more.
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 …
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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.
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 …
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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.
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 …
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A group of 50 students at a university reached out to our Office for help after they all failed the same course.
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.
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).
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.
Tricky ticket
A woman contacted us after a difficult experience trying to resolve a traffic ticket. She had paid off the ticket in 1998, but in 2019, she was notified that there was $26 owing on her file for a late fee she hadn’t been told about, and her driver’s licence would be suspended if she did not pay it. …
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A woman contacted us after a difficult experience trying to resolve a traffic ticket.
Wurst case scenario
An aspiring hot dog vendor complained to us after waiting for two years for a letter from the Ministry to confirm that his custom-built propane-fueled hot dog cart did not require a vehicle identification number or licence plate. He had received no response to his calls and faxes to the Ministry. …
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An aspiring hot dog vendor complained to us after waiting for two years for a letter from the Ministry to confirm that his custom-built propane-fueled hot dog cart did not require a vehicle identification number or licence plate.
Name shame
A mother contacted us in frustration about the conduct of a driving instructor towards her son, a student driver. The student was in the process of a gender transition, and the name on his legal documents was not the same as the name he had chosen to use in daily life. The mother complained that …
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A mother contacted us in frustration about the conduct of a driving instructor towards her son, a student driver.
At your service
A mother sought our help when a DriveTest centre wouldn’t let her daughter bring her certified service dog on her road test. The third party that administered testing at this centre told us that they don’t allow any animals, including service animals, in vehicles. We raised this case with officials …
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A mother sought our help when a DriveTest centre wouldn’t let her daughter bring her certified service dog on her road test.
Time to reconsider
A college student in an online learning program sought our help after he lost access to one of his courses. He complained that there wasn’t sufficient warning that there was a time limit to complete the course. The college pointed to its fine print, which explained the time limit, and told the …
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A college student in an online learning program sought our help after he lost access to one of his courses.
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.
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.
