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When a tree falls…

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 …
A man told us he was camping at a provincial park when a crew that was cutting trees damaged several trailers, including his.

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 …
A mother contacted us in a panic when she received notice that her electricity would be disconnected the next day.

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 …
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.

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 …
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.