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 …
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A woman had her ODSP application denied after a year of waiting.
/en/our-work/case-stories/appeal-reason
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. …
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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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/pricey-blunder
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 …
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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).
A Francophone in Eastern Ontario reached out to tell us about her experience as a witness to a situation while camping. She had wanted the police to intervene because it appeared as if a few individuals were harassing some senior citizens, so she contacted the local OPP detachment and 911. She told …
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A Francophone in Eastern Ontario reached out to tell us about her experience as a witness to a situation while camping.
/en/our-work/case-stories/telephone-tag
Understanding the bill
A Francophone woman who was in a car crash in the Ottawa region received a bill from the Ministry of Transportation’s Highway Incident Claims Unit. She called and asked to speak to a bilingual employee, but was unable to receive services in French. In response to our inquiry, the Unit told us that …
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A Francophone woman who was in a car crash in the Ottawa region received a bill from the Ministry of Transportation’s Highway Incident Claims Unit.
/en/our-work/case-stories/understanding-bill
Continuity at work
While at work, a Francophone man noticed that the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) had published a notice on its website in English only about a proceeding. The OLRB confirmed to us that the missing French notice was an error. They said there had been a delay in posting the French version, as …
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While at work, a Francophone man noticed that the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) had published a notice on its website in English only about a proceeding.
/en/our-work/case-stories/continuity-work
A true active offer
A man went to a ServiceOntario branch in central west Toronto to get an accent added to his first name on his health card. He asked for service in French, but the branch told him that no bilingual agents were available at the moment. He also noticed that several posters were in English only. The …
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A man went to a ServiceOntario branch in central west Toronto to get an accent added to his first name on his health card.
/en/our-work/case-stories/true-active-offer
Unavailable in French
A Francophone woman received a construction notice in English only from Metrolinx, which had been mailed to tenants of a residential building in Toronto. Under the English text it said “ disponible en français ” (“available in French”). The notice was about trees in the woman’s neighbourhood that …
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A Francophone woman received a construction notice in English only from Metrolinx, which had been mailed to tenants of a residential building in Toronto.
/en/our-work/case-stories/unavailable-french
Understanding the assessment
A Francophone man required services from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) after he was injured at work. He needed a full medical examination (physical and psychological). The WSIB referred him to an English-only medical clinic and said he could use interpreters for his examination. …
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A Francophone man required services from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) after he was injured at work.
A blind Francophone man complained to us after a designated community health centre in Northern Ontario sent him confidential, encrypted documents regarding his health in English only. Since he couldn’t open these documents by himself, he had to ask someone else for help, disclosing his personal …
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A blind Francophone man complained to us after a designated community health centre in Northern Ontario sent him confidential, encrypted documents regarding his health in English only.
/en/our-work/case-stories/double-encryption
When in doubt, ask
A Francophone told us about her partner’s experience after undergoing heart surgery in a partially designated hospital. Her partner received follow-up calls in English from the surgeon, nurses and physical therapist, even though he had asked to receive care in French. We raised these issues with …
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A Francophone told us about her partner’s experience after undergoing heart surgery in a partially designated hospital.
/en/our-work/case-stories/when-doubt-ask
How did we do?
A patient at a designated hospital in Northern Ontario told us that on one of her many visits to the hospital, she had noticed multiple unilingual English posters, including one that said “Tell us how we’ve done,” as well as posters in French with errors, including one that misspelled “défense de …
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A patient at a designated hospital in Northern Ontario told us that on one of her many visits to the hospital, she had noticed multiple unilingual English posters, including one that said “Tell us how we’ve done,” as well as posters in French with errors, including one that misspelled “défense de vapoter” (vaping prohibited).
/en/our-work/case-stories/how-did-we-do
Patient understanding
A woman in Northern Ontario went to the emergency room of a designated hospital and was greeted by an employee who asked her COVID-19 screening questions in English only. Then, at intake, she could not access services in French. She told us that when she asked a nurse if he spoke French, it “really …
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A woman in Northern Ontario went to the emergency room of a designated hospital and was greeted by an employee who asked her COVID-19 screening questions in English only.
/en/our-work/case-stories/patient-understanding
The portal is open
The doctor of a Francophone woman who needed surgery was of the opinion that it would be too risky for her to drive. He sent her file to the Ministry of Transportation’s Driver Medical Review Office to ask them to suspend her driver’s licence. The woman got a letter with a personal identification …
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The doctor of a Francophone woman who needed surgery was of the opinion that it would be too risky for her to drive.
/en/our-work/case-stories/portal-open
Zone change
A Franco-Torontonian contacted us to say that the web page for the “Tow Zone” pilot program operated by the Ministry of Transportation showed stickers in English only on the vehicles of authorized towing companies. The page also encouraged visitors to send messages to a unilingual English email …
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A Franco-Torontonian contacted us to say that the web page for the “Tow Zone” pilot program operated by the Ministry of Transportation showed stickers in English only on the vehicles of authorized towing companies.
/en/our-work/case-stories/zone-change
Road to improvement
A Francophone man in Northern Ontario called 511 to get information on driving conditions and selected service in French. He could not understand the automated system’s French, so he chose English, which provided better service. RESULT: Our Office raised the issue with the Ministry of …
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A Francophone man in Northern Ontario called 511 to get information on driving conditions and selected service in French.
/en/our-work/case-stories/road-improvement
Service on demand
A man who had moved from Quebec to Ontario had initiated the process to change his driver’s licence. He went to a DriveTest Centre that offered service in French, but his request for service in French was refused. According to the Centre, no bilingual employees were available at that time, so the …
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A man who had moved from Quebec to Ontario had initiated the process to change his driver’s licence.
/en/our-work/case-stories/service-demand
In the eye of the ID holder
A Francophone with an Outdoors card noticed that the eye colour field on his (bilingual) card was in English only (“brown”). An Outdoors card is a plastic, wallet-sized ID issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry that authorizes the holder to hunt and fish in Ontario. He contacted …
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A Francophone with an Outdoors card noticed that the eye colour field on his (bilingual) card was in English only (“brown”).
/en/our-work/case-stories/eye-id-holder
That’s my name
An Eastern Ontario mom reached out to us on behalf of her daughter. She told us that when her daughter moved, she went to a ServiceOntario branch to order a new Ontario photo card with the daughter’s new address. Unlike her previous card, the new one she received was missing the accent on the …
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An Eastern Ontario mom reached out to us on behalf of her daughter.
/en/our-work/case-stories/thats-my-name
Starting off right
A Francophone representing himself in a dispute received an English-only email inviting him to sign up for the CaseLines platform (used by Ontario courts) to upload his documents for an upcoming hearing. He also told us that the platform was unavailable in French. We reached out to the Ministry of …
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A Francophone representing himself in a dispute received an English-only email inviting him to sign up for the CaseLines platform (used by Ontario courts) to upload his documents for an upcoming hearing.
