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In need of a space

A primary school student with special needs was put on a waiting list for placement in a support program for children with autism. The boy's mother was told that a spot was unlikely to become available soon. Concerned that her child's needs were not being met, she escalated her concerns with the …
A primary school student with special needs was put on a waiting list for placement in a support program for children with autism. The boy's mother was told that a spot was unlikely to become available soon. Concerned that her child's needs were not being met, she escalated her concerns with the school board and then called our Office.
/en/our-work/case-stories/need-space

Improving busing services

The mother of a kindergartner with special needs contacted the Office with concerns about busing services. She said her son’s bus was consistently late and that on one occasion, the bus driver attempted to drop him off at the wrong address. Although she had complained to the bus driver and her …
The mother of a kindergartner with special needs contacted the Office with concerns about busing services.
/en/our-work/case-stories/improving-busing-services

Uncredited

A man complained to us that he received a water bill and a late payment penalty even though he had a $600 credit with the utility. Our staff contacted the municipality and discovered that the man’s original account had been closed and a new account had been set up without the credit being …
A man complained to us that he received a water bill and a late payment penalty even though he had a $600 credit with the utility. Our staff contacted the municipality and discovered that the man’s original account had been closed and a new account had been set up without the credit being transferred over.
/en/our-work/case-stories/uncredited

The safer way

The mother of a Grade 4 student was concerned for her son’s safety because he had to cross a busy intersection on his walk to school. He was denied busing services, even though younger children in the area were being bused to school. After our Office referred her to the school board’s …
The mother of a Grade 4 student was concerned for her son’s safety because he had to cross a busy intersection on his walk to school.
/en/our-work/case-stories/safer-way

Teachable moment

After a teacher-in-charge kept a student out of class for more than two hours over an incident, the student’s mother complained to us about the board’s response to her concerns. As a result of our inquiries, the board sent the mother a letter of apology and began developing guidelines to help …
After a teacher-in-charge kept a student out of class for more than two hours over an incident, the student’s mother complained to us about the board’s response to her concerns.
/en/our-work/case-stories/teachable-moment

Taking the long way home

A mother felt that her daughter's school board didn't follow its own rules after she tried to appeal a change to her daughter's school bus route, which effectively doubled the amount of time her daughter spent on the bus. After reviewing the information, Ombudsman staff found there were concerns …
A mother felt that her daughter's school board didn't follow its own rules after she tried to appeal a change to her daughter's school bus route, which effectively doubled the amount of time her daughter spent on the bus.
/en/our-work/case-stories/taking-long-way-home

Snow problem

A man told our Office he had tried for 10 years to find out why the municipality removed the snow from the sidewalk in front of his neighbours’ homes, but not his. We contacted the municipality’s infrastructure services staff, who discovered the location had been taken off the snowplow route some …
A man told our Office he had tried for 10 years to find out why the municipality removed the snow from the sidewalk in front of his neighbours’ homes, but not his.
/en/our-work/case-stories/snow-problem

Rural bus route dilemma

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 …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/rural-bus-route-dilemma

Rental funding issues

A woman applied for Ontario Works benefits and was told she qualified for $1,850 to cover the first and last month's rent payments for an apartment she was moving into in August. However, a short time later, she was told she only qualified for $825 - the cost of the first month's rent - and …
A woman applied for Ontario Works benefits and was told she qualified for $1,850 to cover the first and last month's rent payments for an apartment she was moving into in August.
/en/our-work/case-stories/rental-funding-issues

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 …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/outside-zone

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 …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/no-place-home-0

No parking

A ​woman who was working temporarily in Ontario and renting a house with no private parking complained to us when the municipality denied her a street parking permit because her vehicle had out-of-province plates. We confirmed that this is the municipality's policy, but it is reviewing its permit …
A ​woman who was working temporarily in Ontario and renting a house with no private parking complained to us when the municipality denied her a street parking permit because her vehicle had out-of-province plates.
/en/our-work/case-stories/no-parking

Lack of clear mechanism

We received complaints of alleged violations of the councillor code of conduct in a township. While reviewing the complaints, we determined that the code of conduct wasn't readily available to the public, and there was no clear mechanism for making a complaint. Immediately following our inquiries, …
We received complaints of alleged violations of the councillor code of conduct in a township.
/en/our-work/case-stories/lack-clear-mechanism

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 …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/home-school-solution

Fee factor

A homeowner complained that a $1,950 fee he paid to make a severance application was not refunded when his application was denied. Our inquiries with the municipality revealed that the application fee is non-refundable, but this is not communicated to applicants before they pay. The municipality …
A homeowner complained that a $1,950 fee he paid to make a severance application was not refunded when his application was denied.
/en/our-work/case-stories/fee-factor

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 …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/entry-prohibited

Denied assistance

A homeless teenager who could not live with either parent was denied assistance through Ontario Works and was not provided with anything in writing about how to appeal the decision. After Ombudsman staff made inquiries with a supervisor at Ontario Works, the teen’s mother confirmed that he was …
A homeless teenager who could not live with either parent was denied assistance through Ontario Works and was not provided with anything in writing about how to appeal the decision.
/en/our-work/case-stories/denied-assistance

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 …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/clarifying-process

Clarifying our jurisdiction

A town clerk contacted our office after the local council, which was considering establishing a code of conduct, expressed the view that it did not need to appoint an Integrity Commissioner, because any complaints related to the code of conduct could be forwarded to the Ombudsman for review. We …
A town clerk contacted our office after the local council, which was considering establishing a code of conduct, expressed the view that it did not need to appoint an Integrity Commissioner, because any complaints related to the code of conduct could be forwarded to the Ombudsman for review.
/en/our-work/case-stories/clarifying-our-jurisdiction

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 …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/cars-curbed