A woman contacted us after she missed several cheques from the province’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP), which she required to cover the cost of ostomy supplies. She explained that she had changed addresses several times. Our staff contacted ADP officials, who determined that two of the woman’s …
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A woman contacted us after she missed several cheques from the province’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP), which she required to cover the cost of ostomy supplies.
Information, please
A woman who has several health issues and relies on Ontario Disability Support Program benefits complained to us that her request for coverage of her medications had been denied by the Ontario Drug Benefit program. She relied on food banks to eat so that she could purchase her medications as …
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A woman who has several health issues and relies on Ontario Disability Support Program benefits complained to us that her request for coverage of her medications had been denied by the Ontario Drug Benefit program.
Healthy extension
A woman who had lived in Canada for 76 years sought our help when she attempted to renew her health card and discovered she did not have Canadian citizenship. She feared this would affect her health coverage, as she was told she would have to apply for a passport in her birth country and then apply …
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A woman who had lived in Canada for 76 years sought our help when she attempted to renew her health card and discovered she did not have Canadian citizenship.
Keep on truckin’
A truck driver who crosses the Canada-U.S. border weekly as an essential worker complained to us that a ServiceOntario location would not let him in and demanded he self-isolate for 14 days because he had recently crossed the border. Our staff discovered that ServiceOntario had a COVID-19 screening …
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A truck driver who crosses the Canada-U.S. border weekly as an essential worker complained to us that a ServiceOntario location would not let him in and demanded he self-isolate for 14 days because he had recently crossed the border.
Right to review
We helped a parent who was refused an identification, placement and review committee (IPRC) to assess her daughter’s giftedness in kindergarten. She was told that the school board did not do IPRCs before Grade 3. We pointed out to the board that, under the Education Act , it did not have the …
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We helped a parent who was refused an identification, placement and review committee (IPRC) to assess her daughter’s giftedness in kindergarten.
Wrongly charged
A patient contacted us after being told by their physician that a non-cosmetic dermatological treatment was not covered by OHIP, and could only be provided if the patient paid. We made inquiries with the Ministry, and confirmed that the treatment was in fact covered. The Ministry asked that the …
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A patient contacted us after being told by their physician that a non-cosmetic dermatological treatment was not covered by OHIP, and could only be provided if the patient paid.
Insured in time
A cancer patient who had appealed OHIP’s decision to deny him coverage complained to us when he did not receive a response within the Ministry of Health’s posted deadline. He had been living overseas for several years and OHIP had denied him coverage because he lacked proof of residency in Ontario. …
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A cancer patient who had appealed OHIP’s decision to deny him coverage complained to us when he did not receive a response within the Ministry of Health’s posted deadline.
Worth the trip
A woman sought our help after her application for an overnight accommodation allowance was denied by the Northern Health Travel Grant because she did not meet the minimum distance requirement. She said her health needs required an overnight stay, and she had been granted many other travel …
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A woman sought our help after her application for an overnight accommodation allowance was denied by the Northern Health Travel Grant because she did not meet the minimum distance requirement.
Language barrier
An English-speaking mother whose child attends a French-language school was facing barriers when attempting to raise concerns with the school principal. Board officials told us they have many families with only one parent who speaks French, and the expectation is that staff will accommodate …
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An English-speaking mother whose child attends a French-language school was facing barriers when attempting to raise concerns with the school principal.
Northern resources
A woman in a remote northern community complained to our Office that her grandson, who has Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), had been excluded from school for four months due to escalating violent behaviour. When the child was allowed back to school, he was only allowed to attend for two …
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A woman in a remote northern community complained to our Office that her grandson, who has Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), had been excluded from school for four months due to escalating violent behaviour. When the child was allowed back to school, he was only allowed to attend for two hours per day, four times a week.
Lessons Not Learned
Ombudsman Report Transparency of Near North District School Board’s decision to close Widdifield Secondary School after the 2016-2017 Pupil Accommodation Review process “Lessons Not Learned” Paul Dubé Ombudsman of Ontario July 2019 Table of Contents Executive Summary …
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Transparency of Near North District School Board’s decision to close Widdifield Secondary School after the 2016-2017 Pupil Accommodation Review process.
Uncovered
A concerned social worker at a psychiatric hospital asked us if we could help a patient whose OHIP coverage had been suddenly cancelled. We discovered that the man had immigrated to Canada more than 50 years ago, and was under the guardianship of Ontario’s Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee, …
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A concerned social worker at a psychiatric hospital asked us if we could help a patient whose OHIP coverage had been suddenly cancelled.
A second look
A transgender woman complained that the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) had improperly refused her application for prior approval for breast reconstruction surgery. The woman explained that due to medical treatment she had undergone as an adolescent, she required additional reconstructive …
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A transgender woman complained that the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) had improperly refused her application for prior approval for breast reconstruction surgery.
Technical difficulty
A Grade 10 student was disappointed to receive a failing grade on the writing component of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test. She had been permitted to submit the essay portion of the test via computer as an accommodation for her dyslexia, but due to a technical problem, the essay was …
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A Grade 10 student was disappointed to receive a failing grade on the writing component of the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test.
Cost of living
After waiting many months for a response from Ministry officials about his experience, a man who had to relocate from Northern Ontario to Toronto for a lung transplant finally had his voice heard through our Office. Although he qualified for the Ministry’s Transplant Patient Expense Reimbursement …
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After waiting many months for a response from Ministry officials about his experience, a man who had to relocate from Northern Ontario to Toronto for a lung transplant finally had his voice heard through our Office.
Split difference
A divorced recipient of Trillium Drug Plan coverage complained to us that his access to the benefit was affected because his ex-wife would not provide a letter stating that he was no longer covered by her private insurance. Although such a letter is normally required under the program’s policies, …
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A divorced recipient of Trillium Drug Plan coverage complained to us that his access to the benefit was affected because his ex-wife would not provide a letter stating that he was no longer covered by her private insurance.
It’s in the (e)mail
A woman contacted our Office after learning her OHIP coverage had been suspended while she was studying outside of Ontario, despite the fact that she had emailed her renewal documents to OHIP several times. We asked that her file be reviewed by OHIP’s eligibility committee, which determined that …
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A woman contacted our Office after learning her OHIP coverage had been suspended while she was studying outside of Ontario, despite the fact that she had emailed her renewal documents to OHIP several times.
Searching for answers
A father contacted us after he went to pick up his daughters at their after-school program and discovered they were off premises without any prior notice. The girls, aged 4 and 10, were among a group of 60 children who were taken on a walk through a residential area as part of a safety drill. Our …
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A father contacted us after he went to pick up his daughters at their after-school program and discovered they were off premises without any prior notice.
To fee or not to fee
Our staff helped two parents whose local school board wanted to charge them more than $6,000 in tuition for their son because his legal guardian lived outside of Ontario – even though the boy did not live with the guardian. We spoke with the school board and the Ministry of Education, and found …
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Our staff helped two parents whose local school board wanted to charge them more than $6,000 in tuition for their son because his legal guardian lived outside of Ontario – even though the boy did not live with the guardian.
Bus fuss
A mother of two sought our help after she was unable to get a response from her school board about why she could not get busing for her four-year-old son, even though her eight-year-old son was being bused to a school closer to home. She was on social assistance and had been spending $20 on taxis …
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A mother of two sought our help after she was unable to get a response from her school board about why she could not get busing for her four-year-old son, even though her eight-year-old son was being bused to a school closer to home.
