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Direct education payment programs

Media release, "Ombudsman to investigate direct education payment programs" (December 11, 2023) Investigation into the Ministry of Education’s direct payment programs for parents and students. Announced December 11, 2023. Case update (2024-2025 Annual Report) Case update (2023-2024 Annual Report) … …

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 …
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.

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 …
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.

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 …
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.

Without consent

A First Nations grandparent complained to us after a school board used medicated lice shampoo on one grandchild and attempted to use it on another, both times without consent. The grandparent likened this action to past treatment of Indigenous students in residential schools. Result: The family …
A First Nations grandparent complained to us after a school board used medicated lice shampoo on one grandchild and attempted to use it on another, both times without consent.

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.

Submission to the Ministry of Education regarding integrity commissioners and meeting procedures for school board trustees

Submission to the Ministry of Education regarding integrity commissioners and meeting procedures for school board trustees Paul Dubé Ombudsman of Ontario April 2024 2 Submission to the Ministry of Education regarding integrity commissioners and school board meetings April 2024 ` Overview The …
The Ministry of Education has requested comments on three regulatory proposals related to school board governance and accountability.

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.

Going the extra mile

A mother complained to us that her child’s school bus route was far too long, averaging four hours per day. We spoke to the school board superintendent, who said a driver shortage was affecting the route, but the local transportation consortium was working to hire and train new drivers. The …
A mother complained to us that her child’s school bus route was far too long, averaging four hours per day.

Section connection

A Francophone student complained to us that his French-language high school couldn’t provide him with a “section 23” program, which is support provided through the ministries of Education and Children, Community and Social Services to students who cannot attend school due to identified social, …
A Francophone student complained to us that his French-language high school couldn’t provide him with a “section 23” program, which is support provided through the ministries of Education and Children, Community and Social Services to students who cannot attend school due to identified social, emotional, behavioural or mental health needs.

Sound the alarm

A vendor complained to us after attempting to bid on a school board’s fire alarm testing contract. The board initially provided information about the bidding process, but later told the vendor only pre-qualified organizations could submit proposals. The vendor said he would have gone through the …
A vendor complained to us after attempting to bid on a school board’s fire alarm testing contract.

Submission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy regarding Bill 98, Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023

Submission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy regarding Bill 98, Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023 Paul Dubé Ombudsman of Ontario May 2023 2 Submission to the Standing Committee on Social Policy regarding Bill 98, Better Schools and Student Outcomes Act, 2023 May 2023 …
The Ombudsman of Ontario is appointed under the Ombudsman Act as an independent and impartial Officer of the Ontario Legislature.

Submission to the Ministry of Education’s consultation regarding school board governance

Submission to the Ministry of Education’s consultation regarding school board governance Paul Dubé Ombudsman of Ontario October 2021 2 Submission to Ministry of Education consultation on school board governance October 2021 Introduction: The Ombudsman’s role in improving school board governance The …
The Ontario Ombudsman oversees the administrative conduct of more than 1,000 public sector organizations, including the province’s 72 school boards and 10 school authorities, as well as provincial and demonstration schools.

Second chance

After receiving the first of two Small Business Support Grant payments, a business owner was told he was no longer eligible for the second. He sought our help after discovering that an error in his banking information had caused his bank to reject the second payment to his account. When he tried to …
After receiving the first of two Small Business Support Grant payments, a business owner was told he was no longer eligible for the second.

Extension explained

A woman whose husband was killed in a workplace accident complained to us that she had heard nothing about the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development’s investigation of the incident for more than a year. She was concerned that it was already too late for any charges to be laid under …
A woman whose husband was killed in a workplace accident complained to us that she had heard nothing about the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development’s investigation of the incident for more than a year.

Far and unfair

We received a complaint from the father of a student with disabilities who resides during the week at a provincial demonstration school in southern Ontario. He said school officials had insisted that he pick up his daughter within two hours, because she was exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms. This was …
We received a complaint from the father of a student with disabilities who resides during the week at a provincial demonstration school in southern Ontario.