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Maplehurst Correctional Complex December 2023 incident

Media release, "Ombudsman to investigate Ontario’s response to incident at Maplehurst Correctional Complex" (June 9, 2025) Investigation into the Ministry of the Solicitor General’s response to a December 2023 incident at Maplehurst Correctional Complex. Announced June 9, 2025. Case update …
/en/our-work/investigations/ongoing-investigations/maplehurst-correctional-complex-december-2023-incident

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) Investigation into the plight of adults with developmental disabilities who are inappropriately housed in hospital due to a lack of supports and …
/en/our-work/investigations/ongoing-investigations/adults-developmental-disabilities-inappropriately-housed-hospitals

Get me to the court on time

An inmate reached out to us to complain about a rapidly approaching court date. He was scheduled to appear in court in person, but the courthouse was a 15-hour drive away, and facility staff had not made travel arrangements to get him to court. Result: We made immediate inquiries with senior staff …
An inmate reached out to us to complain about a rapidly approaching court date.
/en/our-work/case-stories/get-me-court-time

A timely response

An individual who sent a complaint letter to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) came to us for help, saying they had been told the SIU had no formal complaint process or timeline for receiving a response. As a fairness best practice, we generally recommend that public bodies establish a clear …
An individual who sent a complaint letter to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) came to us for help, saying they had been told the SIU had no formal complaint process or timeline for receiving a response.
/en/our-work/case-stories/timely-response

A history of violence

An inmate reached out to us after getting in a fight with another inmate. Both had previously been involved in physical altercations with each other, and should have been placed in separate units within the facility to prevent further ones. Result: Our Office spoke with senior staff at the …
An inmate reached out to us after getting in a fight with another inmate.
/en/our-work/case-stories/history-violence

Urgency overlooked

An injured inmate sought our help with complications related to his eye socket, which had become seriously swollen. He told us he had raised this multiple times with health care staff, who had dismissed his concerns, suggesting it was just swelling and not a cause for alarm. Result: We immediately …
An injured inmate sought our help with complications related to his eye socket, which had become seriously swollen.
/en/our-work/case-stories/urgency-overlooked

Secret sale

A man visited a ServiceOntario location to renew his licence plate after he tried to renew it online without success. He was shocked to learn that the vehicle was no longer registered in his name and that ServiceOntario records indicated it had been sold and scrapped. He called us for help in …
A man visited a ServiceOntario location to renew his licence plate after he tried to renew it online without success.
/en/our-work/case-stories/secret-sale

Sticky situation

A man complained to us that he was wrongly charged more than $1,800 for the licence plate stickers on his heavy commercial vehicle. He said the charges should not apply to him, as his vehicles are only used seasonally and not for the full year. Result: We contacted senior officials at the Ministry …
A man complained to us that he was wrongly charged more than $1,800 for the licence plate stickers on his heavy commercial vehicle.
/en/our-work/case-stories/sticky-situation

Breathe easy

Tired of the GO trains that often sat idling near his home, a man asked us for help in raising the matter with Metrolinx. He told us he believed the fumes were causing him health issues. Result: We spoke to Metrolinx staff, who confirmed GO trains do not idle for more than 30 minutes at a time. In …
Tired of the GO trains that often sat idling near his home, a man asked us for help in raising the matter with Metrolinx.
/en/our-work/case-stories/breathe-easy

Language bridge

A Russian-speaking woman came to us for help in dealing with her daughter’s care through Ontario Health at Home. Since this matter falls under the mandate of the Patient Ombudsman, we referred her to them. However, she struggled to navigate the automated phone system and could not reach a live …
A Russian-speaking woman came to us for help in dealing with her daughter’s care through Ontario Health at Home.
/en/our-work/case-stories/language-bridge

Decades later

A man who was born in Portugal but has been a Canadian citizen for more than 50 years sought our help in renewing his health card. He did not have his original citizenship documents, and the Ontario Health Insurance Plan had extended his coverage to allow him time to get replacements. However, he …
A man who was born in Portugal but has been a Canadian citizen for more than 50 years sought our help in renewing his health card.
/en/our-work/case-stories/decades-later

Fiscal fumble

A woman complained to us that the Trillium Drug Program made a mistake in calculating her out-of-pocket costs because they used an income tax return from the wrong year. Result: After speaking with program staff, we confirmed they were required to use information from the previous tax year, but …
A woman complained to us that the Trillium Drug Program made a mistake in calculating her out-of-pocket costs because they used an income tax return from the wrong year.
/en/our-work/case-stories/fiscal-fumble

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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/traditional-medicines

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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/indigenous-healing-lodge

Oversight 911

O N TA R I O O N TA R I O ’ S WAT C H D O G OVERSIGHT 911 Investigation into how the Ministry of Health oversees patient complaints and incident reports about ambulance services OMBUDSMAN REPORT n PAUL DUBÉ, OMBUDSMAN OF ONTARIO n MAY 2021 911 OVERSIGHT 911 DIRECTOR, SPECIAL OMBUDSMAN RESPONSE TEAM …
Investigation into how the Ministry of Health oversees patient complaints and incident reports about ambulance services
/en/our-work/investigations/oversight-911

Missed Messages

O N TA R I O Missed Messages Investigation into unilingual out-of-home government advertising regarding health services between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2023 REPORT OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE SERVICES COMMISSIONER Carl Bouchard July 2024 O N TA R I O FRENCH LANGUAGE SERVICES UNIT www.ombudsman.on.ca …
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontarians turned to the provincial government for important information on protecting their health and that of their families and communities.
/en/our-work/investigations/missed-messages

Service for a smile

A woman whose daughter had to have an emergency root canal procedure – at a cost of $700 – sought our help in obtaining coverage through Healthy Smiles Ontario, a provincial program that covers dental care for eligible children and youth who are 17 and under. The child’s dentist had not enrolled …
A woman whose daughter had to have an emergency root canal procedure – at a cost of $700 – sought our help in obtaining coverage through Healthy Smiles Ontario, a provincial program that covers dental care for eligible children and youth who are 17 and under.
/en/our-work/case-stories/service-smile

Action reaction

A woman reached out to us after contacting the Ministry of Long-Term Care’s Action Line with concerns about her mother’s death in a long-term care home. She felt the Ministry had failed to respond to her concerns about the medical care given to her mother, who suffered an infection and dehydration …
A woman reached out to us after contacting the Ministry of Long-Term Care’s Action Line with concerns about her mother’s death in a long-term care home.
/en/our-work/case-stories/action-reaction

Motorcycle mix-up

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 …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/motorcycle-mix

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 …
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/kept-suspense-0