A woman contacted us because she was unable to obtain home care services in French for her spouse, who had lost the ability to speak English due to health problems. She explained to us that the health care services provided in French through her local Home and Community Care Support Services office …
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A woman contacted us because she was unable to obtain home care services in French for her spouse, who had lost the ability to speak English due to health problems.
Skills in French required
A crane operator attempted to contact Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) to request an explanation regarding an invoice and was unable to obtain services in French. We contacted STO to raise the issue. As a result of our intervention, the telephone system was modified to ensure that clients requesting …
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A crane operator attempted to contact Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) to request an explanation regarding an invoice and was unable to obtain services in French.
Entitled to inclusion
We were contacted by a Francophone mother whose child identifies as female – which represented a change from the gender assigned to the child at birth. The child wanted a name change so that legal documents would reflect her identity. The child began the name change process with the Office of the …
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We were contacted by a Francophone mother whose child identifies as female – which represented a change from the gender assigned to the child at birth.
“Help wanted” in both languages
A man filed a complaint about Ontario Health’s job postings. The link for applications transferred job seekers to a third-party site. That site and the job postings on it were in English only. A message at the end of each job description indicated that the French version would be available shortly. …
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A man filed a complaint about Ontario Health’s job postings.
Without subtitles
A woman informed us that French subtitles had disappeared from the videos on the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s Facebook page entitled “ Lieux de travail de l’Ontario [Ontario At Work].” Although this page is in French, the majority of the videos are in English …
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A woman informed us that French subtitles had disappeared from the videos on the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development’s Facebook page entitled “Lieux de travail de l’Ontario [Ontario At Work].”
Uninterrupted visits
Issues: Children’s aid society; Rights (Good care) A 13-year-old in the care of a children’s aid society (CAS) contacted us when he didn’t hear back from his CAS about making arrangements to see his mother. The youth had regular weekly visits scheduled with his mother at his grandmother’s house, …
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A 13-year-old in the care of a children’s aid society (CAS) contacted us when he didn’t hear back from his CAS about making arrangements to see his mother.
Help is en route
A Francophone man who wanted some information about renewing his licence plate contacted our Office because he was unable to obtain service in French from a ServiceOntario office in a designated area. We raised the issue with the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery, which ensured that …
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A Francophone man who wanted some information about renewing his licence plate contacted our Office because he was unable to obtain service in French from a ServiceOntario office in a designated area.
Continuing education
A woman contacted us to complain about her experience with inadequate French services from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, both during telephone conversations and in written communications in response to her access to information request. We contacted Ministry staff, who committed to …
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A woman contacted us to complain about her experience with inadequate French services from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, both during telephone conversations and in written communications in response to her access to information request.
Secure resolution
Issue: Group home A 16-year-old complained that staff at his group home weren’t helpful to him after his personal belongings, including a laptop, were stolen or damaged by other youths living in the home. When we contacted staff at the responsible agency, they confirmed another resident had been …
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A 16-year-old complained that staff at his group home weren’t helpful to him after his personal belongings, including a laptop, were stolen or damaged by other youths living in the home.
Apply, return, repeat
A mother contacted us in frustration after waiting several months for her son’s name change to be processed. She had already submitted a notarized application on his behalf twice, seeking to change the name on his birth certificate to reflect his gender identity. When the second submission was …
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A mother contacted us in frustration after waiting several months for her son’s name change to be processed.
Delay of name
A mother complained to us about delays in obtaining long-form birth certificates for her two university-aged children, who needed the documents to apply for post-secondary education funding. Our inquiries with the Registrar General’s office revealed that the documents were stalled in its system …
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A mother complained to us about delays in obtaining long-form birth certificates for her two university-aged children, who needed the documents to apply for post-secondary education funding.
Errant pass
A woman sought our help after she purchased an annual Ontario Parks pass by mistake – she had meant to buy a Parks Canada pass (for national parks) instead. Her request for a refund was initially turned down but after we put her in touch with a more senior official at the Ministry of the …
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A woman sought our help after she purchased an annual Ontario Parks pass by mistake – she had meant to buy a Parks Canada pass (for national parks) instead.
Debris debacle
A group of residents near a construction site complained that the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks was not acting on their complaints about debris. After Ombudsman staff spoke with Ministry officials, they explained the enforcement action they took to address the problem, which …
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A group of residents near a construction site complained that the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks was not acting on their complaints about debris.
Septic solution
A homeowner sought our help with servicing his septic tank – which was located on the property of a neighbour who would not allow access. We helped him reach the right people at the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, who arranged to visit both properties and speak with both the …
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A homeowner sought our help with servicing his septic tank – which was located on the property of a neighbour who would not allow access.
Second chance
After receiving the first of two Small Business Support Grant payments, a business owner was told he was no longer eligible for the second. He sought our help after discovering that an error in his banking information had caused his bank to reject the second payment to his account. When he tried to …
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After receiving the first of two Small Business Support Grant payments, a business owner was told he was no longer eligible for the second.
Extension explained
A woman whose husband was killed in a workplace accident complained to us that she had heard nothing about the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development’s investigation of the incident for more than a year. She was concerned that it was already too late for any charges to be laid under …
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A woman whose husband was killed in a workplace accident complained to us that she had heard nothing about the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development’s investigation of the incident for more than a year.
Tell us more
A man contacted us on behalf of his father, who was immunocompromised and receiving cancer treatments. He had applied to the Exceptional Access Program for funding for a drug necessary for managing the elder man’s conditions – which the EAP had approved for him before. He complained that EAP staff …
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A man contacted us on behalf of his father, who was immunocompromised and receiving cancer treatments.
Deductible decision
A man contacted our Office after trying unsuccessfully to have his Trillium Drug Program deductible increased. He had requested a reassessment, but the amount was still inconsistent with the program guide’s formula. He was also having trouble getting reimbursed for his wife’s kidney transplant …
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A man contacted our Office after trying unsuccessfully to have his Trillium Drug Program deductible increased.
Form fix
We heard from a man who was still waiting for his semi-annual grant for ostomy supplies from the Ministry’s Assistive Devices Program. We spoke with Ministry staff and learned that they were waiting on a form from him. We arranged with staff from his doctor’s office to send the form to the Ministry …
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We heard from a man who was still waiting for his semi-annual grant for ostomy supplies from the Ministry’s Assistive Devices Program.
Address unknown
A woman sought our help when she found out her driver’s licence had been suspended for medical reasons five years earlier, without her knowledge. Because of the delay, she would have to repeat the graduated licensing process to get her licence reinstated. Our inquiries revealed that the Ministry …
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A woman sought our help when she found out her driver’s licence had been suspended for medical reasons five years earlier, without her knowledge.
