A woman was owed thousands of dollars in support payments by a former spouse who was living in British Columbia. She told us she was concerned that the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Unit of the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), which handles interprovincial cases, was not enforcing a court …
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A woman was owed thousands of dollars in support payments by a former spouse who was living in British Columbia.
/en/our-work/case-stories/suspended-payment
Seal of disapproval
A man who pays family support through the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) complained to us that the FRO was garnishing too much from his federal disability payments, leaving him unable to pay his rent. We raised the case with FRO staff, noting that a recent court order set out how much it could …
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A man who pays family support through the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) complained to us that the FRO was garnishing too much from his federal disability payments, leaving him unable to pay his rent.
/en/our-work/case-stories/seal-disapproval
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/apply-return-repeat
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/delay-name
Post-mortem refund
A man who had continued to make regular family support payments to his former mother-in-law, who had cared for his now-adult daughter, complained to us after he learned the older woman had been dead for more than a year. He alerted the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) – which had administered the …
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A man who had continued to make regular family support payments to his former mother-in-law, who had cared for his now-adult daughter, complained to us after he learned the older woman had been dead for more than a year.
/en/our-work/case-stories/post-mortem-refund
Voicemail jail
An Ontario Works (OW) recipient urgently needed help when her benefits were suspended because she submitted some paperwork late. She had been in and out of hospital, and needed drug coverage to continue her medical treatments, but could not reach her OW caseworker. When we contacted OW staff, we …
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An Ontario Works (OW) recipient urgently needed help when her benefits were suspended because she submitted some paperwork late.
/en/our-work/case-stories/voicemail-jail
Breaking the bank
A woman who was owed more than $10,000 in support payments from her ex-husband complained to us that she had provided documents to the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) proving that he had the money in a bank account, but the FRO would not take action. Our inquiries determined that the man’s money …
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A woman who was owed more than $10,000 in support payments from her ex-husband complained to us that she had provided documents to the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) proving that he had the money in a bank account, but the FRO would not take action.
/en/our-work/case-stories/breaking-bank
Found money
A mother had been waiting for months to access support funding to assist with her nine-year-old son’s developmental mental health conditions. She was concerned that his behaviour was escalating and putting himself and others at risk. After we contacted officials at the Ministry of Children, …
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A mother had been waiting for months to access support funding to assist with her nine-year-old son’s developmental mental health conditions.
/en/our-work/case-stories/found-money-0
Power arrangers
A woman who was behind on her hydro bills asked Ontario Works (OW) for help to avoid getting disconnected. The agency granted the request, but accidentally transferred an extra $1,600 to the utility, which added it to the woman’s account. She assumed it was additional COVID-19 support, as OW had …
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A woman who was behind on her hydro bills asked Ontario Works (OW) for help to avoid getting disconnected.
One man from a city in Ukraine that had been evacuated told us the Ministry of Transportation would not validate his Ukrainian licence and driving experience without a letter from the Ukrainian government – something he felt would not be feasible due to the war. He was told the letter was required …
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As large numbers of Ukrainians have sought refuge in Ontario in the wake of Russia’s invasion of their country, Ontario has made efforts to help them settle. However, we recently heard of some having difficulty in obtaining driver’s licences.
A father whose child was born through a surrogate mother complained to us after the Registrar General asked him to resubmit the paperwork for registering the birth, and include an additional form swearing that his statements were true. He complained that this additional requirement was …
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A father whose child was born through a surrogate mother complained to us after the Registrar General asked him to resubmit the paperwork for registering the birth, and include an additional form swearing that his statements were true.
/en/our-work/case-stories/bad-form
Double time
A man complained to us about long delays in getting ServiceOntario and the Registrar General to correct a name error on his mother’s death certificate. Our inquiries revealed that the Registrar General routinely processed a person’s Statement of Death form separately from their Medical Certificate …
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A man complained to us about long delays in getting ServiceOntario and the Registrar General to correct a name error on his mother’s death certificate.
/en/our-work/case-stories/double-time
Letter imperfect
The mother of a 21-year-old woman with developmental disabilities complained to us that she had not been reimbursed by the province’s Passport program for support services that she purchased for her daughter. She was told that she had run out of funding, even though she thought she still had money …
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The mother of a 21-year-old woman with developmental disabilities complained to us that she had not been reimbursed by the province’s Passport program for support services that she purchased for her daughter.
/en/our-work/case-stories/letter-imperfect
Failed to send
An Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipient complained to us that her benefits had been cut off twice without warning. We made inquiries with ODSP officials, who determined that the woman should have received written notice that they were withholding benefits because they needed …
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An Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipient complained to us that her benefits had been cut off twice without warning.
/en/our-work/case-stories/failed-send
After-life support
An unemployed woman who had been paying child support to her children’s father complained to us that the Family Responsibility Office was still intercepting 50% of her unemployment benefits, even though the man had died and the children were now in her care. Our staff flagged the case as urgent to …
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An unemployed woman who had been paying child support to her children’s father complained to us that the Family Responsibility Office was still intercepting 50% of her unemployment benefits, even though the man had died and the children were now in her care.
/en/our-work/case-stories/after-life-support
Payment received
A mother complained to us because she was not receiving any family support payments from her children’s father, even though the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) had the ability to garnish his wages. After Ombudsman staff contacted FRO officials, they immediately did so, and the mother received …
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A mother complained to us because she was not receiving any family support payments from her children’s father, even though the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) had the ability to garnish his wages.
/en/our-work/case-stories/payment-received
At your service
A small business owner reached out to us after he was unable to update the information attached to his business licence through ServiceOntario, despite several attempts. He also told us that he had received poor customer service while seeking assistance. We contacted the Ministry of Government and …
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A small business owner reached out to us after he was unable to update the information attached to his business licence through ServiceOntario, despite several attempts.
/en/our-work/case-stories/your-service
Proven parenthood
A father whose wife died in childbirth sought our help in obtaining a birth certificate and Social Insurance Number for the new baby, which he needed in order to claim survivor benefits. Registrar General officials told him one of the forms he had filled out was invalid, and he would have to …
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A father whose wife died in childbirth sought our help in obtaining a birth certificate and Social Insurance Number for the new baby, which he needed in order to claim survivor benefits.
/en/our-work/case-stories/proven-parenthood
Post-mortem correction
A woman sought our help in getting the Registrar General to help her correct an error she made on her mother’s death certificate. When we inquired about the delay in processing her request, we discovered that staff there had misspelled her name on the file. Both errors were addressed, and she was …
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A woman sought our help in getting the Registrar General to help her correct an error she made on her mother’s death certificate.
/en/our-work/case-stories/post-mortem-correction
Starting anew
A man complained to us after trying for years to resolve a name discrepancy with ServiceOntario. Our inquiries with the Ministry of Transportation, ServiceOntario and the Registrar General revealed that ServiceOntario had processed his request to change his name on his driver’s licence. However, he …
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A man complained to us after trying for years to resolve a name discrepancy with ServiceOntario.
