A woman contacted our Office when she discovered the school board would only bus her granddaughter to a school that was more than twice as far away as the next closest option. Due to low population density and a large coverage area, there was only one bus with a route near their home. Our Office …
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A woman contacted our Office when she discovered the school board would only bus her granddaughter to a school that was more than twice as far away as the next closest option.
Outside the zone
A father contacted us when the principal at his daughter’s school told him she could no longer attend the school, since the family lived outside the catchment area. After our Office contacted the principal and superintendent, the daughter was allowed to stay at the school for another year, and the …
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A father contacted us when the principal at his daughter’s school told him she could no longer attend the school, since the family lived outside the catchment area.
No place like home
A mother of a teenage boy with autism sought our Office’s help after her son was restricted to 45 minutes of school per day due to behavioural issues. She wanted to home-school her son, but the board insisted he come to class for 45 minutes every day. After our staff facilitated communications …
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A mother of a teenage boy with autism sought our Office’s help after her son was restricted to 45 minutes of school per day due to behavioural issues.
Justice delayed
An inmate complained that he had sat in jail for days after becoming eligible for parole because a parole hearing had not been scheduled for him. He had signed a consent form to delay his hearing past his parole eligibility date, but said he had only done so because he was told the Parole Board was …
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An inmate complained that he had sat in jail for days after becoming eligible for parole because a parole hearing had not been scheduled for him.
Home school solution
A teenage boy with autism who was only permitted to attend class for 45 minutes a day due to aggression issues was refusing to return to school because of an incident when police were called. His mother suggested the school board assist with providing home schooling, but the board insisted the boy …
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A teenage boy with autism who was only permitted to attend class for 45 minutes a day due to aggression issues was refusing to return to school because of an incident when police were called.
Entry Prohibited
A woman complained to us after she and her husband received a ‘Notice of Prohibition of Entry’ from a board in October 2012, with no end date or written rationale provided. Our Office confirmed that the Director of Education had the authority to issue the notice, but that the school board should …
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A woman complained to us after she and her husband received a ‘Notice of Prohibition of Entry’ from a board in October 2012, with no end date or written rationale provided.
Clarifying the process
A parent complained to our office after the school board looked into her conflict-of-interest complaint about two trustees who participated in decisions to close a local high school. The board's director of education had found there was no conflict. In our review of how the board handled the …
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A parent complained to our office after the school board looked into her conflict-of-interest complaint about two trustees who participated in decisions to close a local high school.
Cars curbed
A woman complained to us after trying for months to get a school board to respond to her safety concerns about vehicles regularly driving up onto a curb on school property near an entrance for young children. After our staff contacted board officials, they agreed there was an issue, installed “no …
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A woman complained to us after trying for months to get a school board to respond to her safety concerns about vehicles regularly driving up onto a curb on school property near an entrance for young children.
Calculated distance
We received a complaint that several students in the same neighbourhood were deemed ineligible for busing despite believing they lived within the school's distance requirements policy, and that the board would not provide the walk distance calculation to the complainant or other parents. We made …
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We received a complaint that several students in the same neighbourhood were deemed ineligible for busing despite believing they lived within the school's distance requirements policy, and that the board would not provide the walk distance calculation to the complainant or other parents.
Bus stop safety concerns
A parent complained to our office after a school board decided to move their child's bus stop 300 metres to a busier intersection. Our Office reviewed the board's transportation policy and made inquiries about the steps that the board took to assess the safety of the new bus stop. The complaint was …
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A parent complained to our office after a school board decided to move their child's bus stop 300 metres to a busier intersection.
Better, not late
The mother of a kindergarten student with special needs complained that her son’s bus was repeatedly late and that he had once been dropped off at the wrong address. One month into the school year, he had not yet attended a full day. At our suggestion, she complained to the board’s student …
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The mother of a kindergarten student with special needs complained that her son’s bus was repeatedly late and that he had once been dropped off at the wrong address.
Best defence
A senior who was charged with threatening police complained that Legal Aid Ontario told him he was no longer eligible for their services after the Crown decided it would not seek to put him in jail if convicted. Our Office determined that although Legal Aid eligibility normally involves cases where …
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A senior who was charged with threatening police complained that Legal Aid Ontario told him he was no longer eligible for their services after the Crown decided it would not seek to put him in jail if convicted.
A matter of exposure
A student complained that one of his female classmates was refused entry into class for having her shoulders exposed. He emailed the school board and, not receiving a response, reached out to our Office. Our staff facilitated communication between the school board and the youth, who was satisfied …
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A student complained that one of his female classmates was refused entry into class for having her shoulders exposed.
Sweet relief
An inmate with diabetes who needed to take insulin before his meals complained to our office that correctional staff could only give it to him after meals. The health care manager initially told us the facility was too large for its staff to co-ordinate the man’s insulin with his mealtimes, but …
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An inmate with diabetes who needed to take insulin before his meals complained to our office that correctional staff could only give it to him after meals.
Security risk
An inmate who had been in segregation for nine months – because the facility had concerns about his and others’ safety and security – complained to our office that it was harming his mental health and he needed to see a psychiatrist. After Ombudsman staff made inquiries, the facility took a closer …
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An inmate who had been in segregation for nine months – because the facility had concerns about his and others’ safety and security – complained to our office that it was harming his mental health and he needed to see a psychiatrist.
Motherhood issue
An inmate who was 29 weeks into a high-risk pregnancy contacted us in fear that she would lose her baby due to lack of care. She complained of delays in being referred to prenatal appointments, in being taken to hospital, and in accessing her health record. When our Office contacted the facility’s …
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An inmate who was 29 weeks into a high-risk pregnancy contacted us in fear that she would lose her baby due to lack of care. She complained of delays in being referred to prenatal appointments, in being taken to hospital, and in accessing her health record.
Monitors, not medics
The mother of a five-year-old girl with medical needs enrolled her in a special program after she was told a bus monitor would be assigned to administer the child’s medication if needed. But in fact, bus monitors are not trained to give any medication except epi-pens or asthma inhalers in certain …
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The mother of a five-year-old girl with medical needs enrolled her in a special program after she was told a bus monitor would be assigned to administer the child’s medication if needed.
Credit deserved
The parent of a high school student with autism spectrum disorder contacted us after she was informed by her son’s school that he would not receive credit for one of his courses because he had not met course expectations. The mother’s understanding was that her son had passed all tests and …
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The parent of a high school student with autism spectrum disorder contacted us after she was informed by her son’s school that he would not receive credit for one of his courses because he had not met course expectations.
Adding Insult to Injury
https://www.ombudsman.on.ca/Resources/Reports/Adding-Insult-to-Injury.aspx?lang=en-CA Ombudsman Report Investigation into the Treatment of Victims by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board “Adding Insult to Injury” André Marin Ombudsman of Ontario February 2007 Table of Contents Executive …
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Investigation into the treatment of victims by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.
Oversight Unseen
Ombudsman Report André Marin, Ombudsman of Ontario September 2008 Investigation into the Special Investigations Unit’s operational effectiveness and credibility Investigation into the Special Investigations Unit’s operational effectiveness and credibility …
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Investigation into the Special Investigations Unit's operational effectiveness and credibility.