Search

Displaying 1 - 20 of 165

Adults with developmental disabilities inappropriately housed in hospitals

Media release, "Ombudsman to investigate cases of people with developmental disabilities who are inappropriately housed in hospitals " (March 27, 2023)   Case Update (Annual Report 2023-2024) Case Update (Annual Report 2022-2023) Investigation into the plight of adults with developmental …

Traditional medicines

An Indigenous inmate told us he had not been able to smudge regularly at his facility, and he wasn’t allowed traditional medicines such as cedar, sage, sweetgrass and tobacco. RESULT: After we intervened, he met with a Native Inmate Liaison Officer and was provided with smudge spray, sage medicine, …
An Indigenous inmate told us he had not been able to smudge regularly at his facility, and he wasn’t allowed traditional medicines such as cedar, sage, sweetgrass and tobacco.

Indigenous healing lodge

An Indigenous inmate complained of repeated delays in response to her requests to see a social worker, so she could apply to an Indigenous healing lodge. RESULT: We spoke with facility officials, who said staffing shortages had resulted in delays. We kept in touch with the inmate, who confirmed she …
An Indigenous inmate complained of repeated delays in response to her requests to see a social worker, so she could apply to an Indigenous healing lodge.

Suitable support

A father in crisis sought our help to find services and supported living for his son, a 15-year-old with complex special needs. He told us his son was prone to violence and had been taken to hospital by police on several occasions. RESULT: We spoke with the involved agencies and Ministry staff to …
A father in crisis sought our help to find services and supported living for his son, a 15-year-old with complex special needs.

Appeal to reason

A woman had her ODSP application denied after a year of waiting. Her daughter then submitted documents multiple times for an appeal of the decision, but was told the appeal wasn’t processed because she didn’t include specific information in the body of her email. When she sent yet another email …
A woman had her ODSP application denied after a year of waiting.

Pricey blunder

A woman sought our help because she hadn’t received Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) payments or drug benefits from August 2020 to October 2021. RESULT: After our intervention, the manager reviewing the file discovered the woman’s caseworker had made a mistake in calculating her benefits. …
A woman sought our help because she hadn’t received Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) payments or drug benefits from August 2020 to October 2021.

Long-distance resolution

A woman who had been living outside of Canada for 15 years sought our help in obtaining more than $25,000 in child support through the Family Responsibility Office (FRO). When she left Ontario, she had asked the FRO to hold the payments for her as they accumulated, as it was easier for her to cash …
A woman who had been living outside of Canada for 15 years sought our help in obtaining more than $25,000 in child support through the Family Responsibility Office (FRO).

Helpful information

An international student at a college of applied arts and technology requested a tuition refund when he decided to leave his program and return home to India. The college told him he had missed its deadline to withdraw and receive a refund. He asked our Office for help, saying the financial …
An international student at a college of applied arts and technology requested a tuition refund when he decided to leave his program and return home to India.

Fair trade

A student sought our help after his college told him he would have to retake a trade course he had already effectively completed, which would delay his graduation and the full-time employment he had arranged. His college had given him under 48 hours to accept an opportunity to complete additional …
A student sought our help after his college told him he would have to retake a trade course he had already effectively completed, which would delay his graduation and the full-time employment he had arranged.

Course correction

A group of 50 students at a university reached out to our Office for help after they all failed the same course. The students, most of whom were international students, raised concerns about the instruction, grades and feedback they received from the university, and the financial consequences of …
A group of 50 students at a university reached out to our Office for help after they all failed the same course.

Report as required

We received complaints from two inmates at the same facility, alleging they had been sexually assaulted. One inmate complained that they were sexually assaulted by another inmate, and the other complained that they were sexually assaulted by staff. When we inquired with facility staff, we found …
We received complaints from two inmates at the same facility, alleging they had been sexually assaulted.

Privacy protections

We received complaints from a group of 10 inmates, all women, that they were strip searched by correctional officers in their unit, in view of one another. We flagged this case to senior staff at the facility. RESULT: After our intervention, the facility purchased privacy screens to prevent similar …
We received complaints from a group of 10 inmates, all women, that they were strip searched by correctional officers in their unit, in view of one another.

Mistaken identity

A transgender inmate contacted our Office after she was involved in an altercation with correctional officers. When we made inquiries, we learned that the facility’s computer system had not been updated with the correct information regarding the inmate’s gender identity, even though she had …
A transgender inmate contacted our Office after she was involved in an altercation with correctional officers.

Submission to the Ministry of the Solicitor General’s consultation regarding training for peace officers and use of force by police services

Submission to the Ministry of the Solicitor General’s consultation regarding training for peace officers and use of force by police services Paul Dubé Ombudsman of Ontario October 2023 1 Submission to the Ministry of the Solicitor General regarding training and use of force October 2023 Overview …
The Ministry of the Solicitor General has requested public and stakeholder input on various proposed regulations made under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019.

Time to reconsider

A college student in an online learning program sought our help after he lost access to one of his courses. He complained that there wasn’t sufficient warning that there was a time limit to complete the course. The college pointed to its fine print, which explained the time limit, and told the …
A college student in an online learning program sought our help after he lost access to one of his courses.

Funding frustration

The mother of an 11-year-old with autism and developmental disabilities contacted us when she wasn’t able to access funding under the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) or the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities program (ACSD), even though she believed her child was eligible for both. When …
The mother of an 11-year-old with autism and developmental disabilities contacted us when she wasn’t able to access funding under the Ontario Autism Program (OAP) or the Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities program (ACSD), even though she believed her child was eligible for both.

Suspended payment

A woman was owed thousands of dollars in support payments by a former spouse who was living in British Columbia. She told us she was concerned that the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Unit of the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), which handles interprovincial cases, was not enforcing a court …
A woman was owed thousands of dollars in support payments by a former spouse who was living in British Columbia.

Seal of disapproval

A man who pays family support through the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) complained to us that the FRO was garnishing too much from his federal disability payments, leaving him unable to pay his rent. We raised the case with FRO staff, noting that a recent court order set out how much it could …
A man who pays family support through the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) complained to us that the FRO was garnishing too much from his federal disability payments, leaving him unable to pay his rent.

Added grief

A woman whose common-law spouse had died while they were living in a homeless shelter complained to us that the Chief Coroner’s Office had buried him even though she had requested to claim the body. When we spoke to the Coroner’s Office, we were told that the woman hadn’t taken the appropriate …
A woman whose common-law spouse had died while they were living in a homeless shelter complained to us that the Chief Coroner’s Office had buried him even though she had requested to claim the body.

Issues overlooked

An inmate told us a correctional officer threw him to the ground and started punching and kneeing him – leaving the inmate with swollen arms and a broken hand. We confirmed that the inmate had received medical treatment, including medication and multiple x-rays. However, we discovered that although …
An inmate told us a correctional officer threw him to the ground and started punching and kneeing him – leaving the inmate with swollen arms and a broken hand.