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Double encryption

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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/starting-right

Fairer treatment

A Francophone teen at a secure treatment centre run by a designated organization was having trouble accessing services in French, including in the classroom. He had made many written and oral requests to be transferred to the bilingual wing of the centre, but they were all refused. We approached …
A Francophone teen at a secure treatment centre run by a designated organization was having trouble accessing services in French, including in the classroom.
/en/our-work/case-stories/fairer-treatment

Alert unheard

As he drove to Hamilton in a snowstorm, a driver noticed that the French version of the government’s emergency weather alerts broadcast on the radio were garbled and unintelligible. The three alerts advised the public to shelter in place and warned that emergency personnel would be unable to help …
As he drove to Hamilton in a snowstorm, a driver noticed that the French version of the government’s emergency weather alerts broadcast on the radio were garbled and unintelligible.
/en/our-work/case-stories/alert-unheard

Checked out

A Francophone who had been unemployed for a long time requested a background check from the OPP so he could be hired for a new job. He was impatient to rejoin the workforce. The OPP uses a private service provider to conduct the background checks. After submitting his request, the man contacted the …
A Francophone who had been unemployed for a long time requested a background check from the OPP so he could be hired for a new job.
/en/our-work/case-stories/checked-out

Your call is important to us

A man called the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) call centre in December 2022 to make an online purchase. He requested service in French and was put on a long hold before receiving unilingual English service. RESULT: We discussed the issue with the LCBO, which adopted a new system for …
A man called the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) call centre in December 2022 to make an online purchase.
/en/our-work/case-stories/your-call-important-us

Returning French to the French River

A Francophone resident from the Sudbury area informed us about an English-only sign marking the French River on Highway 69, located between Parry Sound and Sudbury. We brought this issue to the attention of the Ministry of Transportation. RESULT: As a result of our intervention, the Ministry …
A Francophone resident from the Sudbury area informed us about an English-only sign marking the French River on Highway 69, located between Parry Sound and Sudbury.
/en/our-work/case-stories/returning-french-french-river

One complaint, 600 signs

Our Unit handled a case involving more than 600 English-only road signs in Northern Ontario, reported by a Francophone who told us he drove more than 800 kilometres to document them. The content of the signs ranged from notices about construction zones, to geographical information, to messaging …
Our Unit handled a case involving more than 600 English-only road signs in Northern Ontario, reported by a Francophone who told us he drove more than 800 kilometres to document them.
/en/our-work/case-stories/one-complaint-600-signs

Translation in progress

Walking to work one day, a man noticed English-only signs about the upcoming construction of Corktown Station in Toronto for the future Ontario Line. We raised his complaint with Metrolinx, which is in charge of this project, and they told us that the staff members who designed these temporary …
Walking to work one day, a man noticed English-only signs about the upcoming construction of Corktown Station in Toronto for the future Ontario Line.
/en/our-work/case-stories/translation-progress

Substantial improvement

A Francophone member of the military contacted us about a regulation in the Environmental Protection Act that he needed for work, but was not available in French. He told us that the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks requires an exam before working with certain substances. The …
A Francophone member of the military contacted us about a regulation in the Environmental Protection Act that he needed for work, but was not available in French.
/en/our-work/case-stories/substantial-improvement

No room for failure

Two Francophone students from Northern Ontario reached out to us with concerns about the quality of the French version of the accreditation exam for emergency medical care assistants. According to the students, the French version of the exam contained grammatical and contextual mistakes that …
Two Francophone students from Northern Ontario reached out to us with concerns about the quality of the French version of the accreditation exam for emergency medical care assistants.
/en/our-work/case-stories/no-room-failure