A man noticed that the driver’s licence he’d had for four years did not indicate that he was also qualified to drive a motorcycle. He told us that DriveTest and the Ministry said his only recourse was to start the motorcycle licensing process all over again. RESULT: After we intervened, Ministry …
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A man noticed that the driver’s licence he’d had for four years did not indicate that he was also qualified to drive a motorcycle.
Kept in suspense
A senior sought our help when his driver’s licence was suspended, just seven months after he had gone through an extensive process with the Driver Medical Review Office to get it reinstated. RESULT: When we raised the case with Ministry officials, they clarified that although they had asked the man …
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A senior sought our help when his driver’s licence was suspended, just seven months after he had gone through an extensive process with the Driver Medical Review Office to get it reinstated.
Correcting the record
A transgender woman who changed the name and sex designation on her driver’s licence contacted us in frustration after being told that her car insurance would now cost more. She said that in making the changes, the Ministry had given her an entirely new licence number, which was no longer connected …
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A transgender woman who changed the name and sex designation on her driver’s licence contacted us in frustration after being told that her car insurance would now cost more.
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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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A group of 50 students at a university reached out to our Office for help after they all failed the same course.
Tricky ticket
A woman contacted us after a difficult experience trying to resolve a traffic ticket. She had paid off the ticket in 1998, but in 2019, she was notified that there was $26 owing on her file for a late fee she hadn’t been told about, and her driver’s licence would be suspended if she did not pay it. …
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A woman contacted us after a difficult experience trying to resolve a traffic ticket.
Wurst case scenario
An aspiring hot dog vendor complained to us after waiting for two years for a letter from the Ministry to confirm that his custom-built propane-fueled hot dog cart did not require a vehicle identification number or licence plate. He had received no response to his calls and faxes to the Ministry. …
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An aspiring hot dog vendor complained to us after waiting for two years for a letter from the Ministry to confirm that his custom-built propane-fueled hot dog cart did not require a vehicle identification number or licence plate.
Name shame
A mother contacted us in frustration about the conduct of a driving instructor towards her son, a student driver. The student was in the process of a gender transition, and the name on his legal documents was not the same as the name he had chosen to use in daily life. The mother complained that …
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A mother contacted us in frustration about the conduct of a driving instructor towards her son, a student driver.
At your service
A mother sought our help when a DriveTest centre wouldn’t let her daughter bring her certified service dog on her road test. The third party that administered testing at this centre told us that they don’t allow any animals, including service animals, in vehicles. We raised this case with officials …
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A mother sought our help when a DriveTest centre wouldn’t let her daughter bring her certified service dog on her road test.
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 …
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A college student in an online learning program sought our help after he lost access to one of his courses.
Address unknown
A woman sought our help when she found out her driver’s licence had been suspended for medical reasons five years earlier, without her knowledge. Because of the delay, she would have to repeat the graduated licensing process to get her licence reinstated. Our inquiries revealed that the Ministry …
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A woman sought our help when she found out her driver’s licence had been suspended for medical reasons five years earlier, without her knowledge.
Fax confirmed
A woman complained to us that the Ministry of Transportation had suspended her licence even though she had faxed in her eye test results a month earlier for special review. We provided the Ministry’s Medical Review Section with a copy of the fax confirmation, which showed the submission date. Staff …
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A woman complained to us that the Ministry of Transportation had suspended her licence even though she had faxed in her eye test results a month earlier for special review.
Clean record
A woman who needed to drive to visit her husband in hospital sought our help after ServiceOntario told her she could not renew her licence. The issue was an old driving offence on her record, which required that she complete three tests before her licence would be valid. She told us she had …
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A woman who needed to drive to visit her husband in hospital sought our help after ServiceOntario told her she could not renew her licence.
Slow-speed cheque
A man contacted our Office after waiting almost two years for the Ministry of Transportation to return a $5,000 security deposit. He had arranged a special permit from the Ministry to build a fence along a section of provincial highway near his property. The deposit was a Ministry requirement – …
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A man contacted our Office after waiting almost two years for the Ministry of Transportation to return a $5,000 security deposit.
Please remain seated
A man studying online for his real estate certification complained to us after he was accused of leaving his seat during a virtual exam and then locked out of the program. He insisted that he had never left his seat, and that a glitch in the virtual proctoring technology had mistakenly identified …
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A man studying online for his real estate certification complained to us after he was accused of leaving his seat during a virtual exam and then locked out of the program.
Conversion confusion
A man who had accidentally submitted incorrect information to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) sought our help when OSAP converted his $32,000 grant to a loan. He told us that because of the mistake, OSAP had concluded that his wife was employed, when in fact she lived in Afghanistan …
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A man who had accidentally submitted incorrect information to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) sought our help when OSAP converted his $32,000 grant to a loan.
Vaccination pass
A university student who was exclusively enrolled in online courses and as an online teaching assistant complained to us that he was “unenrolled” because he did not provide proof that he had received the COVID-19 vaccine. He complained that there was no clear appeal process, and no distinction was …
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A university student who was exclusively enrolled in online courses and as an online teaching assistant complained to us that he was “unenrolled” because he did not provide proof that he had received the COVID-19 vaccine.
Strengthening the Designation: A Collaborative Effort
O N T A R I O O N TA R I O ’ S WATC H D O G Strengthening the Designation: A Collaborative Effort Investigation into Laurentian University’s cuts to French-language programming during restructuring and into the administration of the university’s designation by the Ministry of Francophone Affairs …
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Investigation into Laurentian University’s cuts to French-language programming during restructuring and into the administration of the university’s designation by the Ministry of Francophone Affairs and the Ministry of Colleges and Universities
No surrender
A driver complained to us after he was told the Ministry had no record of the licence he had surrendered to them 30 days earlier. Drivers whose licences are suspended because of demerit points are required to surrender them in person at ServiceOntario centres or mail them to the Ministry. However, …
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A driver complained to us after he was told the Ministry had no record of the licence he had surrendered to them 30 days earlier.
