A man told us he was camping at a provincial park when a crew that was cutting trees damaged several trailers, including his. He said he wrote to the park superintendent to ask them to pay for the damage, but got no response. Result: We reached out to staff at Ontario Parks, which is part of the …
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A man told us he was camping at a provincial park when a crew that was cutting trees damaged several trailers, including his.
/en/our-work/case-stories/when-tree-falls
Keeping the lights on
A mother contacted us in a panic when she received notice that her electricity would be disconnected the next day. She told us this would seriously impact her ability to care for her daughter, who has special needs that require her to have lights on through the night. Result: We stepped in quickly …
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A mother contacted us in a panic when she received notice that her electricity would be disconnected the next day.
/en/our-work/case-stories/keeping-lights
Slow build
A man who had purchased a plot of undeveloped land came to us after waiting almost two years for a development permit from the Niagara Escarpment Commission. The Commission’s role is to safeguard the area’s environmental features, and it specifically considers the impact of development on the …
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A man who had purchased a plot of undeveloped land came to us after waiting almost two years for a development permit from the Niagara Escarpment Commission.
/en/our-work/case-stories/slow-build
Peace of mine
A resident was concerned about a municipality that was using aggregate (mining waste) from an abandoned mine as part of an infrastructure project and asked us to look into their concerns about this material. They wanted information about the potential environmental harm posed by the use of mining …
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A resident was concerned about a municipality that was using aggregate (mining waste) from an abandoned mine as part of an infrastructure project and asked us to look into their concerns about this material.
/en/our-work/case-stories/peace-mine
Respectfully reviewed
A Métis man sought our help after he was cut off from Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) assistance two weeks after getting approved for it, because his employer offered him the opportunity to take on lighter work. He told us that he felt that his Métis status was being ignored by WSIB …
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A Métis man sought our help after he was cut off from Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) assistance two weeks after getting approved for it, because his employer offered him the opportunity to take on lighter work.
/en/our-work/case-stories/respectfully-reviewed
Trade trouble
An electrician whose work experience was from outside Canada was frustrated by the length of time Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) was taking to process his application to become a certified construction and maintenance electrician. He told us it wasn’t clear what documentation he had to submit to …
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An electrician whose work experience was from outside Canada was frustrated by the length of time Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) was taking to process his application to become a certified construction and maintenance electrician.
/en/our-work/case-stories/trade-trouble
Translation error
A paralegal for an employer complained to us that a decision by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) on the case of a worker from Quebec who was injured in Ontario took almost a year to process because of translation delays. She said many of the documents in the case were in French and …
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A paralegal for an employer complained to us that a decision by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) on the case of a worker from Quebec who was injured in Ontario took almost a year to process because of translation delays.
/en/our-work/case-stories/translation-error
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 …
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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
Asubpeeschoseewagong Netum Anishinabek (Grassy Narrows First Nation)
The Ombudsman and staff met with community members and leaders. During this visit, the Ombudsman was told there had been a delay in Hydro One installing the poles to bring electricity to these homes, and there appeared to be a communication breakdown between the community and Hydro One. RESULT: …
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The Ombudsman and staff met with community members and leaders. During this visit, the Ombudsman was told there had been a delay in Hydro One installing the poles to bring electricity to these homes, and there appeared to be a communication breakdown between the community and Hydro One.
RESULT: The Ombudsman reached out to Hydro One’s Ombudsman, and by working together, they were able to communicate the urgency of the situation to the corporation. The hydro line was installed within the month.
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
Water clarity
A landlord complained to us that his municipality had put his tenant’s unpaid water and wastewater charges on his property tax bill, without notifying him in advance. He told us he was frustrated because he could not obtain detailed information about the water account – which was in the tenant’s …
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A landlord complained to us that his municipality had put his tenant’s unpaid water and wastewater charges on his property tax bill, without notifying him in advance.
/en/our-work/case-stories/water-clarity
Powerful help
A woman whose medical condition makes her reliant on an electric wheelchair, bed and lift was facing having her hydro disconnected because of an outstanding bill of $15,000. Given her vulnerable situation, we prioritized her case, working closely with the hydro company. RESULT: The company arranged …
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A woman whose medical condition makes her reliant on an electric wheelchair, bed and lift was facing having her hydro disconnected because of an outstanding bill of $15,000.
/en/our-work/case-stories/powerful-help
Billing blunder
A low-income senior complained that her utility provider had been incorrectly applying her Ontario Electricity Support Program credit to her water bill for more than five years. Because of this error, the woman was being asked to repay approximately $1,800. RESULT: We inquired with the utility …
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A low-income senior complained that her utility provider had been incorrectly applying her Ontario Electricity Support Program credit to her water bill for more than five years.
/en/our-work/case-stories/billing-blunder
Stress reducer
A man lost his house when his Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) benefits were cut off. Although this decision was eventually reversed and his benefits were reinstated through the WSIB, he was diagnosed in the meantime with severe depression. He told our Office he was having difficulty …
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A man lost his house when his Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) benefits were cut off.
/en/our-work/case-stories/stress-reducer
Bridging the gap
A man sought our help in obtaining his Joint Health and Safety Committee Certification through the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. He said the Ministry refused to recognize his training because there was a 14-year gap between his completion of the first and second …
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A man sought our help in obtaining his Joint Health and Safety Committee Certification through the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
