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Help with the bill

A recipient of Ontario Disability Support Program benefits contacted us when he discovered his monthly natural gas and water tank rental fees had not been paid since 2016 and he owed $2,000 in outstanding fees. ODSP officials told us that although they paid rent and hydro bills, the man was …
A recipient of Ontario Disability Support Program benefits contacted us when he discovered his monthly natural gas and water tank rental fees had not been paid since 2016 and he owed $2,000 in outstanding fees.
/en/our-work/case-stories/help-bill

Long overdue

A man with significant medical issues contacted us with the help of his social worker because he was experiencing financial hardship due to the Family Responsibility Office garnishing his Canada Pension Plan benefits for past child support arrears – although his children were now in their 30s. Our …
A man with significant medical issues contacted us with the help of his social worker because he was experiencing financial hardship due to the Family Responsibility Office garnishing his Canada Pension Plan benefits for past child support arrears – although his children were now in their 30s.
/en/our-work/case-stories/long-overdue

Address unknown

A woman complained to us that she had not received any family support payments in over a year, despite submitting paperwork to the Family Responsibility Office asking that she receive them via direct deposit rather than by mailed cheque. Our inquiries revealed that FRO officials never received her …
A woman complained to us that she had not received any family support payments in over a year, despite submitting paperwork to the Family Responsibility Office asking that she receive them via direct deposit rather than by mailed cheque.
/en/our-work/case-stories/address-unknown

Extended parking

A woman sought our help after she was provided with a temporary accessible parking permit with a duration of only six months, when she had previously had one that lasted five years. We confirmed with ServiceOntario that in fact, the woman’s doctor had provided new information indicating that she …
A woman sought our help after she was provided with a temporary accessible parking permit with a duration of only six months, when she had previously had one that lasted five years.
/en/our-work/case-stories/extended-parking

Broken telephone

Our staff helped a woman who was having trouble reaching a manager at the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), due to recent changes to its phone system. We spoke with FRO officials and they committed to getting in touch with her, but there was a substantial delay before the woman was able to …
Our staff helped a woman who was having trouble reaching a manager at the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), due to recent changes to its phone system.
/en/our-work/case-stories/broken-telephone

Paid upfront

A cancer patient who is an Ontario Disability Support Program recipient told us she was about to have surgery and urgently needed funds to pay for transportation, but could not reach her caseworker. We spoke with ODSP officials, who explained that caseworkers are rotating in and out of the office …
A cancer patient who is an Ontario Disability Support Program recipient told us she was about to have surgery and urgently needed funds to pay for transportation, but could not reach her caseworker.
/en/our-work/case-stories/paid-upfront

A parent error

A father complained to us that FRO had collected thousands of dollars of support payments from him for 14 years, even though his daughter was no longer in the care of her mother but had been made a Crown ward. FRO officials confirmed to us that they had received information in 2004 indicating that …
A father complained to us that FRO had collected thousands of dollars of support payments from him for 14 years, even though his daughter was no longer in the care of her mother but had been made a Crown ward.
/en/our-work/case-stories/parent-error

Welcome change

A transgender man seeking a name change complained to us when his application was rejected because the sex on his birth certificate differed from the gender on his name change application. He was advised by ServiceOntario to contact the Registrar General, whose staff said he would have to submit a …
A transgender man seeking a name change complained to us when his application was rejected because the sex on his birth certificate differed from the gender on his name change application.
/en/our-work/case-stories/welcome-change

What to expect

An international student who had completed post-secondary studies in Ontario and was now employed sought our help in communicating with ServiceOntario about getting an Ontario Health card. She complained that each time she brought in the documents they requested, their expectations changed. We …
An international student who had completed post-secondary studies in Ontario and was now employed sought our help in communicating with ServiceOntario about getting an Ontario Health card.
/en/our-work/case-stories/what-expect

Caught in the web

A woman complained to us that the Registrar General’s website froze when she was in the midst of applying for death certificates for two family members. She went back to the website and filed the application, and alerted the Registrar General of this – but she wound up being charged for two …
A woman complained to us that the Registrar General’s website froze when she was in the midst of applying for death certificates for two family members.
/en/our-work/case-stories/caught-web

Credit undo

A mother who receives support for her adult child with disabilities sought our help after she inadvertently provided inaccurate information to FRO, resulting in the termination of her support and a $21,000 credit to the payor. Ombudsman staff inquired with FRO officials, who agreed to review the …
A mother who receives support for her adult child with disabilities sought our help after she inadvertently provided inaccurate information to FRO, resulting in the termination of her support and a $21,000 credit to the payor.
/en/our-work/case-stories/credit-undo

Auto-threat

A pensioner who had a longstanding agreement to pay her family support arrears off at $50/month complained to us that the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) sent her a letter threatening to garnish half of her monthly income, which would leave her with no money to pay her utility bills. When our …
A pensioner who had a longstanding agreement to pay her family support arrears off at $50/month complained to us that the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) sent her a letter threatening to garnish half of her monthly income, which would leave her with no money to pay her utility bills.
/en/our-work/case-stories/auto-threat

Not on board

An Ontario Works recipient sought our help when he received a letter saying he would have to repay $1,835 to Ontario Works, and that his monthly income would be reduced by $202. He was baffled and upset by this, and officials had not responded to his request for a review. When we looked into the …
An Ontario Works recipient sought our help when he received a letter saying he would have to repay $1,835 to Ontario Works, and that his monthly income would be reduced by $202.
/en/our-work/case-stories/not-board

Identity crisis

An elderly woman needed our help with obtaining new identification after she lost her OHIP card, her primary photo ID. She explained that because she was born at home and her birth was never registered, she did not have a birth certificate; nor did she have any immunization records, as her parents …
An elderly woman needed our help with obtaining new identification after she lost her OHIP card, her primary photo ID.
/en/our-work/case-stories/identity-crisis

Family re-covered

We helped a father renew his daughter’s OHIP card after she had gone three years without a valid one and her application had been rejected. He explained that the family had been homeless for a time during this period, so they were unable to receive renewal notices by mail. When they finally moved …
We helped a father renew his daughter’s OHIP card after she had gone three years without a valid one and her application had been rejected.
/en/our-work/case-stories/family-re-covered

It’s where you live

A woman who moved to Ontario from Alberta for work sought our help after her application for OHIP coverage was rejected due to inadequate proof that she resided in Ontario. Over the course of a year, all of the documents she provided to ServiceOntario to show she lived in the province were …
A woman who moved to Ontario from Alberta for work sought our help after her application for OHIP coverage was rejected due to inadequate proof that she resided in Ontario.
/en/our-work/case-stories/its-where-you-live

The long and short of it

A mother of two boys complained to our Office when she had trouble changing her children’s names on their birth certificates, documents they needed soon to make a trip to Disneyland in the U.S. She said miscommunication by ServiceOntario staff about how she should go about amending the boys’ long …
A mother of two boys complained to our Office when she had trouble changing her children’s names on their birth certificates, documents they needed soon to make a trip to Disneyland in the U.S.
/en/our-work/case-stories/long-and-short-it

Born free

An almost-retired man who wanted to get a passport to travel sought our help after three frustrating years of trying to obtain a birth certificate from the Office of the Registrar General. He complained he could not provide proof of his birth. He believed he had been born at home, as there were no …
An almost-retired man who wanted to get a passport to travel sought our help after three frustrating years of trying to obtain a birth certificate from the Office of the Registrar General.
/en/our-work/case-stories/born-free

Builder beware

A man who has physical disabilities and cancer was issued a grant from the province’s Home and Vehicle Modification Program (HVMP) to build a porch lift at his home. The contractors falsely told the man that building permits were not required, and after a city inspection found it was not built to …
A man who has physical disabilities and cancer was issued a grant from the province’s Home and Vehicle Modification Program (HVMP) to build a porch lift at his home.
/en/our-work/case-stories/builder-beware

Double trouble

A mother and adult daughter, both ODSP recipients who live together, complained to us about a mixup after the daughter successfully applied for ODSP for herself from a different office than the one where her mother was a client. She was not aware that her mother received additional ODSP benefits …
A mother and adult daughter, both ODSP recipients who live together, complained to us about a mixup after the daughter successfully applied for ODSP for herself from a different office than the one where her mother was a client.
/en/our-work/case-stories/double-trouble