A woman who needed to drive to visit her husband in hospital sought our help after ServiceOntario told her she could not renew her licence. The issue was an old driving offence on her record, which required that she complete three tests before her licence would be valid. She told us she had …
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A woman who needed to drive to visit her husband in hospital sought our help after ServiceOntario told her she could not renew her licence.
Slow-speed cheque
A man contacted our Office after waiting almost two years for the Ministry of Transportation to return a $5,000 security deposit. He had arranged a special permit from the Ministry to build a fence along a section of provincial highway near his property. The deposit was a Ministry requirement – …
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A man contacted our Office after waiting almost two years for the Ministry of Transportation to return a $5,000 security deposit.
Long-term loan
A man with ALS complained that when he moved into a long-term care home in 2017 due to his deteriorating condition, he become ineligible for the ventilator that he had been provided through the province’s Ventilator Equipment Pool program. Our staff confirmed with Ministry of Health and program …
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A man with ALS complained that when he moved into a long-term care home in 2017 due to his deteriorating condition, he become ineligible for the ventilator that he had been provided through the province’s Ventilator Equipment Pool program.
Checked and re-chequed
A woman contacted us after she missed several cheques from the province’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP), which she required to cover the cost of ostomy supplies. She explained that she had changed addresses several times. Our staff contacted ADP officials, who determined that two of the woman’s …
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A woman contacted us after she missed several cheques from the province’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP), which she required to cover the cost of ostomy supplies.
Information, please
A woman who has several health issues and relies on Ontario Disability Support Program benefits complained to us that her request for coverage of her medications had been denied by the Ontario Drug Benefit program. She relied on food banks to eat so that she could purchase her medications as …
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A woman who has several health issues and relies on Ontario Disability Support Program benefits complained to us that her request for coverage of her medications had been denied by the Ontario Drug Benefit program.
Healthy extension
A woman who had lived in Canada for 76 years sought our help when she attempted to renew her health card and discovered she did not have Canadian citizenship. She feared this would affect her health coverage, as she was told she would have to apply for a passport in her birth country and then apply …
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A woman who had lived in Canada for 76 years sought our help when she attempted to renew her health card and discovered she did not have Canadian citizenship.
No surrender
A driver complained to us after he was told the Ministry had no record of the licence he had surrendered to them 30 days earlier. Drivers whose licences are suspended because of demerit points are required to surrender them in person at ServiceOntario centres or mail them to the Ministry. However, …
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A driver complained to us after he was told the Ministry had no record of the licence he had surrendered to them 30 days earlier.
Experience counts
A man who had driving experience in India and in British Columbia sought our help after he tried to obtain an equivalent Ontario driver’s licence. His experience should have qualified him immediately for a G2 licence (the second of three steps in Ontario’s graduated licence program) and allowed him …
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A man who had driving experience in India and in British Columbia sought our help after he tried to obtain an equivalent Ontario driver’s licence.
Kept in suspense
A driver whose licence was suspended as a result of a criminal charge successfully appealed the charge and had it removed from his record. He was told by ServiceOntario staff that the licence would be reinstated within 2-3 days. He complained to us when, several weeks later, he was charged with …
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A driver whose licence was suspended as a result of a criminal charge successfully appealed the charge and had it removed from his record.
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.
Record time
A driver who moved to B.C. sought our help after waiting for a copy of his driving record from Ontario for 7 weeks. He needed the record to start his new job as a transit operator. When he didn’t receive it after the advertised delivery period of 10-15 business days, he contacted the Ministry …
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A driver who moved to B.C. sought our help after waiting for a copy of his driving record from Ontario for 7 weeks.
Presto change
When attempting to reload her Presto card, a transit rider purchased a monthly Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) pass by mistake. She contacted Metrolinx, which referred her to the TTC, which in turn referred her to Metrolinx. When she still received no response, our Office connected her with …
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When attempting to reload her Presto card, a transit rider purchased a monthly Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) pass by mistake. She contacted Metrolinx, which referred her to the TTC, which in turn referred her to Metrolinx.
Claiming responsibility
A man whose vehicle was damaged by a large pothole complained to us after the Ministry of Transportation’s adjuster denied his claim and the road construction company denied responsibility. After we raised the matter with Ministry officials, they investigated further and determined that the …
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A man whose vehicle was damaged by a large pothole complained to us after the Ministry of Transportation’s adjuster denied his claim and the road construction company denied responsibility.
Lost in the mail
A woman came to us in frustration after trying several times to obtain her renewed driver’s licence. Each time she visited ServiceOntario, she was given a temporary licence and told a permanent one would be mailed to her. But after 6 months and several visits, she still hadn’t received it. Our …
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A woman came to us in frustration after trying several times to obtain her renewed driver’s licence. Each time she visited ServiceOntario, she was given a temporary licence and told a permanent one would be mailed to her.
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.
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.
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.
Essential licence
A woman whose job was deemed an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic sought our help when her driver’s licence was suspended due to a medical matter and she was temporarily unable to get to work. Our staff were able to facilitate the reinstatement of her licence within a few days. … …
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A woman whose job was deemed an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic sought our help when her driver’s licence was suspended due to a medical matter and she was temporarily unable to get to work.
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.
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.
