We received numerous complaints in 2020-2021 about delays in approvals by Ontario’s Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) for transfers of restricted firearms. We learned that this backlog was largely due to COVID-19, as the office was struggling with staff shortages and technological limitations related to …
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We received numerous complaints in 2020-2021 about delays in approvals by Ontario’s Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) for transfers of restricted firearms.
/en/our-work/case-stories/under-gun
Report duty
An inmate sought our help after he was involved in an altercation with another inmate and then pepper sprayed and assaulted by correctional officers. He had reported the assault to health care staff, but our review showed that they did not report the incident to superiors as required by Ministry …
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An inmate sought our help after he was involved in an altercation with another inmate and then pepper sprayed and assaulted by correctional officers.
/en/our-work/case-stories/report-duty
Search terms
Several inmates in the same facility complained to us that they were strip searched in a main hallway, in view of security cameras. Ministry policy requires that searches be conducted in an area and a manner that preserves inmates’ privacy and dignity. Our inquiries led us to escalate the matter to …
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Several inmates in the same facility complained to us that they were strip searched in a main hallway, in view of security cameras.
/en/our-work/case-stories/search-terms
Keep on truckin’
A truck driver who crosses the Canada-U.S. border weekly as an essential worker complained to us that a ServiceOntario location would not let him in and demanded he self-isolate for 14 days because he had recently crossed the border. Our staff discovered that ServiceOntario had a COVID-19 screening …
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A truck driver who crosses the Canada-U.S. border weekly as an essential worker complained to us that a ServiceOntario location would not let him in and demanded he self-isolate for 14 days because he had recently crossed the border.
/en/our-work/case-stories/keep-truckin
Vote for fairness
A young person in custody contacted us last year to complain that he wasn’t able to vote in the federal election, although he had expressed his interest in voting to the youth facility’s staff members. In our review, we found that the facility didn’t have a proper process in place to ensure that …
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A young person in custody contacted us last year to complain that he wasn’t able to vote in the federal election, although he had expressed his interest in voting to the youth facility’s staff members.
/en/our-work/case-stories/vote-fairness
Wrongly charged
A patient contacted us after being told by their physician that a non-cosmetic dermatological treatment was not covered by OHIP, and could only be provided if the patient paid. We made inquiries with the Ministry, and confirmed that the treatment was in fact covered. The Ministry asked that the …
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A patient contacted us after being told by their physician that a non-cosmetic dermatological treatment was not covered by OHIP, and could only be provided if the patient paid.
/en/our-work/case-stories/wrongly-charged
Insured in time
A cancer patient who had appealed OHIP’s decision to deny him coverage complained to us when he did not receive a response within the Ministry of Health’s posted deadline. He had been living overseas for several years and OHIP had denied him coverage because he lacked proof of residency in Ontario. …
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A cancer patient who had appealed OHIP’s decision to deny him coverage complained to us when he did not receive a response within the Ministry of Health’s posted deadline.
/en/our-work/case-stories/insured-time
Worth the trip
A woman sought our help after her application for an overnight accommodation allowance was denied by the Northern Health Travel Grant because she did not meet the minimum distance requirement. She said her health needs required an overnight stay, and she had been granted many other travel …
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A woman sought our help after her application for an overnight accommodation allowance was denied by the Northern Health Travel Grant because she did not meet the minimum distance requirement.
/en/our-work/case-stories/worth-trip
Unreasonable search
A group of Indigenous inmates complained to us that they were strip-searched before attending a smudging ceremony, leaving them feeling violated, discriminated against and targeted because of their Indigenous spirituality. Our review determined that the search was ordered as the result of a …
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A group of Indigenous inmates complained to us that they were strip-searched before attending a smudging ceremony, leaving them feeling violated, discriminated against and targeted because of their Indigenous spirituality.
/en/our-work/case-stories/unreasonable-search
Needed support
An inmate who uses a customized wheelchair to support his spine sought our help because he was being repeatedly transferred to a second institution without his chair. The chair provided at the second institution was not appropriate for his condition and he could not safely shower with it. After we …
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An inmate who uses a customized wheelchair to support his spine sought our help because he was being repeatedly transferred to a second institution without his chair.
/en/our-work/case-stories/needed-support
Misconduct-ed
An inmate complained to us after a sergeant at his facility penalized him by taking away 30 days of earned remission (time off his sentence) for refusing a transfer to another facility. He said he was denied a fair hearing, because the same sergeant was involved in investigating the incident and …
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An inmate complained to us after a sergeant at his facility penalized him by taking away 30 days of earned remission (time off his sentence) for refusing a transfer to another facility.
/en/our-work/case-stories/misconduct-ed
Uncovered
A concerned social worker at a psychiatric hospital asked us if we could help a patient whose OHIP coverage had been suddenly cancelled. We discovered that the man had immigrated to Canada more than 50 years ago, and was under the guardianship of Ontario’s Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee, …
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A concerned social worker at a psychiatric hospital asked us if we could help a patient whose OHIP coverage had been suddenly cancelled.
/en/our-work/case-stories/uncovered
A second look
A transgender woman complained that the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) had improperly refused her application for prior approval for breast reconstruction surgery. The woman explained that due to medical treatment she had undergone as an adolescent, she required additional reconstructive …
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A transgender woman complained that the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) had improperly refused her application for prior approval for breast reconstruction surgery.
/en/our-work/case-stories/second-look
A time to mourn
An inmate sought our help in reaching the appropriate correctional officials after her father passed away and she could not get a response to her request to attend his funeral. She had made repeated requests for a temporary absence pass, but had heard nothing, and feared she would miss her chance …
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An inmate sought our help in reaching the appropriate correctional officials after her father passed away and she could not get a response to her request to attend his funeral.
/en/our-work/case-stories/time-mourn
Re: Vision
An inmate complained to us that staff at his correctional facility had taken his eyeglasses and refused to return them. Our Office made inquiries with the facility and confirmed that the inmate’s glasses had been lost. Officials at the jail agreed to ensure that he received a new prescription, and …
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An inmate complained to us that staff at his correctional facility had taken his eyeglasses and refused to return them.
/en/our-work/case-stories/re-vision
Without further delay
A woman who had been pursuing her case at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario for several years sought our help after she learned that the adjudicator assigned to her case was no longer able to continue. The prospect of having to resume the entire hearing process from the beginning was especially …
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A woman who had been pursuing her case at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario for several years sought our help after she learned that the adjudicator assigned to her case was no longer able to continue.
/en/our-work/case-stories/without-further-delay
Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs regarding Bill 57
Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs regarding Bill 57, Restoring Trust, Transparency and Accountability Act, 2018 Paul Dubé Ombudsman of Ontario December 3, 2018 Introduction In addressing the changes proposed by Bill 57, I will devote most of my comments to those …
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In addressing the changes proposed by Bill 57, I will devote most of my comments to those amendments that affect the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario, and the Ombudsman Act. Most notable among these are amendments that will expand the mandate of this office into areas that are presently within the mandate of my fellow Officers of the Legislature, the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth (Child Advocate) and the French Language Services Commissioner.
After waiting many months for a response from Ministry officials about his experience, a man who had to relocate from Northern Ontario to Toronto for a lung transplant finally had his voice heard through our Office. Although he qualified for the Ministry’s Transplant Patient Expense Reimbursement …
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After waiting many months for a response from Ministry officials about his experience, a man who had to relocate from Northern Ontario to Toronto for a lung transplant finally had his voice heard through our Office.
/en/our-work/case-stories/cost-living
Split difference
A divorced recipient of Trillium Drug Plan coverage complained to us that his access to the benefit was affected because his ex-wife would not provide a letter stating that he was no longer covered by her private insurance. Although such a letter is normally required under the program’s policies, …
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A divorced recipient of Trillium Drug Plan coverage complained to us that his access to the benefit was affected because his ex-wife would not provide a letter stating that he was no longer covered by her private insurance.
/en/our-work/case-stories/split-difference
It’s in the (e)mail
A woman contacted our Office after learning her OHIP coverage had been suspended while she was studying outside of Ontario, despite the fact that she had emailed her renewal documents to OHIP several times. We asked that her file be reviewed by OHIP’s eligibility committee, which determined that …
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A woman contacted our Office after learning her OHIP coverage had been suspended while she was studying outside of Ontario, despite the fact that she had emailed her renewal documents to OHIP several times.