A woman contacted us because she was unable to obtain home care services in French for her spouse, who had lost the ability to speak English due to health problems. She explained to us that the health care services provided in French through her local Home and Community Care Support Services office …
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A woman contacted us because she was unable to obtain home care services in French for her spouse, who had lost the ability to speak English due to health problems.
Skills in French required
A crane operator attempted to contact Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) to request an explanation regarding an invoice and was unable to obtain services in French. We contacted STO to raise the issue. As a result of our intervention, the telephone system was modified to ensure that clients requesting …
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A crane operator attempted to contact Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) to request an explanation regarding an invoice and was unable to obtain services in French.
Entitled to inclusion
We were contacted by a Francophone mother whose child identifies as female – which represented a change from the gender assigned to the child at birth. The child wanted a name change so that legal documents would reflect her identity. The child began the name change process with the Office of the …
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We were contacted by a Francophone mother whose child identifies as female – which represented a change from the gender assigned to the child at birth.
“Help wanted” in both languages
A man filed a complaint about Ontario Health’s job postings. The link for applications transferred job seekers to a third-party site. That site and the job postings on it were in English only. A message at the end of each job description indicated that the French version would be available shortly. …
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A man filed a complaint about Ontario Health’s job postings.
Without subtitles
A woman informed us that French subtitles had disappeared from the videos on the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s Facebook page entitled “ Lieux de travail de l’Ontario [Ontario At Work].” Although this page is in French, the majority of the videos are in English …
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A woman informed us that French subtitles had disappeared from the videos on the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s Facebook page entitled “Lieux de travail de l’Ontario [Ontario At Work].”
2021-2022 Annual Report of the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario
Annual Report of the French Language Services Commissioner of Ontario 2021 . 2022 O F F I C E O F T H E O M B U D S M A N O F O N T A R I O O N TA R I O ’ S WATC H D O G O N T A R I O C H I E N D E G A R D E D E L’ O N TA R I O O N T A R I O Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario We are: An independent …
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Commissioner's Message - The future begins now
This is already my third Annual Report as French Language Services Commissioner, within the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario.
When I reflect on the progress we have achieved since May 1, 2019, I am proud of the work we have accomplished. My objective with this report is to take stock and to seize the opportunity to look to the future, in light of possibilities arising from the modernization of the French Language Services Act.
Help is en route
A Francophone man who wanted some information about renewing his licence plate contacted our Office because he was unable to obtain service in French from a ServiceOntario office in a designated area. We raised the issue with the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery, which ensured that …
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A Francophone man who wanted some information about renewing his licence plate contacted our Office because he was unable to obtain service in French from a ServiceOntario office in a designated area.
Continuing education
A woman contacted us to complain about her experience with inadequate French services from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, both during telephone conversations and in written communications in response to her access to information request. We contacted Ministry staff, who committed to …
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A woman contacted us to complain about her experience with inadequate French services from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, both during telephone conversations and in written communications in response to her access to information request.
Errant pass
A woman sought our help after she purchased an annual Ontario Parks pass by mistake – she had meant to buy a Parks Canada pass (for national parks) instead. Her request for a refund was initially turned down but after we put her in touch with a more senior official at the Ministry of the …
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A woman sought our help after she purchased an annual Ontario Parks pass by mistake – she had meant to buy a Parks Canada pass (for national parks) instead.
Debris debacle
A group of residents near a construction site complained that the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks was not acting on their complaints about debris. After Ombudsman staff spoke with Ministry officials, they explained the enforcement action they took to address the problem, which …
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A group of residents near a construction site complained that the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks was not acting on their complaints about debris.
Septic solution
A homeowner sought our help with servicing his septic tank – which was located on the property of a neighbour who would not allow access. We helped him reach the right people at the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, who arranged to visit both properties and speak with both the …
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A homeowner sought our help with servicing his septic tank – which was located on the property of a neighbour who would not allow access.
Please try again later
We received a complaint from a Francophone who contacted the Ministry of Finance regarding provincial property taxes in an unorganized territory in Northern Ontario. He said he had to wait on the phone for about an hour before he could reach a bilingual agent. After this call, the man tried to call …
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We received a complaint from a Francophone who contacted the Ministry of Finance regarding provincial property taxes in an unorganized territory in Northern Ontario.
French connections
A person complained that some LinkedIn accounts of the Ontario government and its agencies, including those of the Ministry of Transportation and Ontario Health, showed a unilingual English logo and title. We contacted the Cabinet Office, which completed a ministry-wide audit to ensure that all …
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A person complained that some LinkedIn accounts of the Ontario government and its agencies, including those of the Ministry of Transportation and Ontario Health, showed a unilingual English logo and title.
Transit news, now bilingual
A man informed us that although he had chosen to receive the Metrolinx e-newsletter about the Ontario Line in French, it was still being emailed to him in English every week. Through our discussions with Metrolinx, a government agency under the Ministry of Transportation, we found out that the …
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A man informed us that although he had chosen to receive the Metrolinx e-newsletter about the Ontario Line in French, it was still being emailed to him in English every week.
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
In French, please, Your Honour
We were contacted by a person who requested a bilingual hearing at a courthouse in Northern Ontario. However, at the time of the hearing, the judge present could only speak English and no other means of providing services in French were available. The self-represented person could not follow the …
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We were contacted by a person who requested a bilingual hearing at a courthouse in Northern Ontario.
For follow-up in French, press 2
A man contacted the provincial COVID-19 vaccine system by phone and chose the “French” option to request his proof of vaccination by mail. He contacted us to point out that the follow-up call from the Ministry of Health to verify that he had received his proof of immunization was in English. As a …
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A man contacted the provincial COVID-19 vaccine system by phone and chose the “French” option to request his proof of vaccination by mail.
Electrifying solution
We were contacted by a person living in a designated area of Eastern Ontario who requested the French version of an inspection report conducted by the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA). The ESA is a Delegated Administrative Authority that does not meet the definition of a government agency under …
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We were contacted by a person living in a designated area of Eastern Ontario who requested the French version of an inspection report conducted by the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA).
Problem extinguished
A man working at a French-language school board contacted us because he wanted to obtain the French version of the Fire Code (Regulation 213/07 of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act ) in order to know the provisions that apply to school facilities. The regulation is only available in English. …
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A man working at a French-language school board contacted us because he wanted to obtain the French version of the Fire Code (Regulation 213/07 of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act) in order to know the provisions that apply to school facilities.
Cured by translation
We were contacted by a person who visited the Ontario Health Data Platform website to learn more about a Ministry of Health research project – only to discover the site was only available in English. We raised the issue with the Ministry, which explained that the site and the platform were not for …
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We were contacted by a person who visited the Ontario Health Data Platform website to learn more about a Ministry of Health research project – only to discover the site was only available in English.