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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: …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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 …
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.

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 …
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.

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 …
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.

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 …
A man lost his house when his Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) benefits were cut off.

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 …
A man sought our help in obtaining his Joint Health and Safety Committee Certification through the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

Proof of skills

A man had been waiting to receive a new wallet card from Skilled Trades Ontario – proof of his skilled trade credentials – for more than a year. He told our Office he received conflicting information about the reasons for the delay. RESULT: After we raised the case with Skilled Trades Ontario …
A man had been waiting to receive a new wallet card from Skilled Trades Ontario – proof of his skilled trade credentials – for more than a year.

Flood of concern

When a conservation authority approved a permit to fill regulated flood plains, we received several complaints from local residents concerned about the negative effects on the environment. Officials at the conservation authority told us the permit was unprecedented, but found no grounds to deny the …
When a conservation authority approved a permit to fill regulated flood plains, we received several complaints from local residents concerned about the negative effects on the environment.

A grey area

An environmental group complained to us when they didn’t hear back from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry about their concerns related to a development project’s unregulated grey water and natural septic systems. They were worried the development would affect a nearby lake, as well as …
An environmental group complained to us when they didn’t hear back from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry about their concerns related to a development project’s unregulated grey water and natural septic systems.

Dues blues

A Francophone man in Quebec had been told he still owed dues for his trade licence, dating back to when he lived in Ontario a decade ago. He couldn’t understand what was owing, or why, and he had trouble getting information in French. We intervened on two fronts: We connected with supervisors at …
A Francophone man in Quebec had been told he still owed dues for his trade licence, dating back to when he lived in Ontario a decade ago.

Expense suspense

An injured worker had been approved by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to see a doctor some distance from his home. He tried to claim travel and meal expenses from the WSIB, but both were denied. He appealed the decision, but only his travel expenses were approved – and he had to …
An injured worker had been approved by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) to see a doctor some distance from his home.

Wait for it

A woman who had been approved for a second payment of $10,000 from the Ontario Small Business Support Grant program, sought our help after months of waiting. She said program officials had told her just to wait. At our urging, they reviewed her case and said they would expedite her second payment – …
A woman who had been approved for a second payment of $10,000 from the Ontario Small Business Support Grant program, sought our help after months of waiting.

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.

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).

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.

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 …
A mother contacted us in frustration after waiting several months for her son’s name change to be processed.