A man complained to our Office about the WSIB after he had not received an update on his compensation application for almost a year. When we contacted WSIB officials, they acknowledged that a decision letter prepared for the man eight months earlier had never been finalized. As a result of our …
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A man complained to our Office about the WSIB after he had not received an update on his compensation application for almost a year.
Uncredited
A man complained to us that he received a water bill and a late payment penalty even though he had a $600 credit with the utility. Our staff contacted the municipality and discovered that the man’s original account had been closed and a new account had been set up without the credit being …
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A man complained to us that he received a water bill and a late payment penalty even though he had a $600 credit with the utility. Our staff contacted the municipality and discovered that the man’s original account had been closed and a new account had been set up without the credit being transferred over.
Too far to go
A mother who had been commuting two hours every day to attend classes at an Everest College campus applied for funding to resume her studies elsewhere after the college closed. However, the only program available in her field would have required a five-hour daily commute. She was offered a partial …
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A mother who had been commuting two hours every day to attend classes at an Everest College campus applied for funding to resume her studies elsewhere after the college closed.
Timely medicine
A mother whose son has a developmental disability and is medically fragile complained that her son’s medication costs were no longer being covered since he had been placed in a group home funded by the Ministry of Community and Social Services. Her son’s physician’s application to the Exceptional …
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A mother whose son has a developmental disability and is medically fragile complained that her son’s medication costs were no longer being covered since he had been placed in a group home funded by the Ministry of Community and Social Services.
The safer way
The mother of a Grade 4 student was concerned for her son’s safety because he had to cross a busy intersection on his walk to school. He was denied busing services, even though younger children in the area were being bused to school. After our Office referred her to the school board’s …
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The mother of a Grade 4 student was concerned for her son’s safety because he had to cross a busy intersection on his walk to school.
Teachable moment
After a teacher-in-charge kept a student out of class for more than two hours over an incident, the student’s mother complained to us about the board’s response to her concerns. As a result of our inquiries, the board sent the mother a letter of apology and began developing guidelines to help …
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After a teacher-in-charge kept a student out of class for more than two hours over an incident, the student’s mother complained to us about the board’s response to her concerns.
Taking the long way home
A mother felt that her daughter's school board didn't follow its own rules after she tried to appeal a change to her daughter's school bus route, which effectively doubled the amount of time her daughter spent on the bus. After reviewing the information, Ombudsman staff found there were concerns …
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A mother felt that her daughter's school board didn't follow its own rules after she tried to appeal a change to her daughter's school bus route, which effectively doubled the amount of time her daughter spent on the bus.
System error
After a 30-day suspension, a woman visited a ServiceOntario office and paid the $150 fee to have her licence reinstated. She received her permanent licence in the mail, but when she was involved in an accident a few months later, she was told her licence was not valid, costing her a $325 fine. Our …
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After a 30-day suspension, a woman visited a ServiceOntario office and paid the $150 fee to have her licence reinstated.
Special(ist) case
A transgender man complained to our Office because he was having difficulty obtaining an updated birth certificate from the Registrar General. Individuals can change the gender designation on their birth certificate if they submit certain documentation, including a letter from a physician. The man …
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A transgender man complained to our Office because he was having difficulty obtaining an updated birth certificate from the Registrar General.
Sorry situation
A man with a visual impairment complained to our Office that an LCBO cashier would not sell him wine unless his 19-year-old son, who was not making a purchase but only accompanying him to provide assistance, showed identification. The man had complained to the LCBO but was unsatisfied with its …
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A man with a visual impairment complained to our Office that an LCBO cashier would not sell him wine unless his 19-year-old son, who was not making a purchase but only accompanying him to provide assistance, showed identification.
Snow problem
A man told our Office he had tried for 10 years to find out why the municipality removed the snow from the sidewalk in front of his neighbours’ homes, but not his. We contacted the municipality’s infrastructure services staff, who discovered the location had been taken off the snowplow route some …
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A man told our Office he had tried for 10 years to find out why the municipality removed the snow from the sidewalk in front of his neighbours’ homes, but not his.
Signal co-ordination
After narrowly escaping being hit by an Ontario Northland Railway train near her home, a woman requested an automatic signal be installed to prevent future incidents. The Ontario Northland Transportation Commission agreed to install a signal if the municipality bore the cost, but the municipality …
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After narrowly escaping being hit by an Ontario Northland Railway train near her home, a woman requested an automatic signal be installed to prevent future incidents.
Second chance
A PhD student who was given no opportunity to repeat his final exam when he failed on his first try after 16 months of course work complained to our Office that he had hit a dead end in the university’s appeal process. Our inquiries determined that staff had misapplied university policy, and as a …
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A PhD student who was given no opportunity to repeat his final exam when he failed on his first try after 16 months of course work complained to our Office that he had hit a dead end in the university’s appeal process.
Rural bus route dilemma
A woman contacted our Office when she discovered the school board would only bus her granddaughter to a school that was more than twice as far away as the next closest option. Due to low population density and a large coverage area, there was only one bus with a route near their home. Our Office …
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A woman contacted our Office when she discovered the school board would only bus her granddaughter to a school that was more than twice as far away as the next closest option.
Retroactive relief
After the Trillium Drug Program denied a woman drug benefits that she had previously received, our staff raised the case with a senior analyst at the Ministry, who found the information she had submitted about her private insurer’s drug coverage had been inconsistent. The analyst worked with the …
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After the Trillium Drug Program denied a woman drug benefits that she had previously received, our staff raised the case with a senior analyst at the Ministry, who found the information she had submitted about her private insurer’s drug coverage had been inconsistent.
Rental funding issues
A woman applied for Ontario Works benefits and was told she qualified for $1,850 to cover the first and last month's rent payments for an apartment she was moving into in August. However, a short time later, she was told she only qualified for $825 - the cost of the first month's rent - and …
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A woman applied for Ontario Works benefits and was told she qualified for $1,850 to cover the first and last month's rent payments for an apartment she was moving into in August.
Pressed for cash
A college student who was taking “compressed” courses over the summer questioned why she didn’t qualify for full-time OSAP funding, as her college had previously determined that her compressed course load made her eligible. Our inquiries determined that the college had made an error, and the woman …
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A college student who was taking “compressed” courses over the summer questioned why she didn’t qualify for full-time OSAP funding, as her college had previously determined that her compressed course load made her eligible.
Painful delay
A woman who was seriously injured in a car accident complained that she waited seven months to receive her application for ODSP benefits. Our staff discovered that her initial call was not responded to for a month, despite a promise on ODSP’s website that a case worker would set up an interview …
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A woman who was seriously injured in a car accident complained that she waited seven months to receive her application for ODSP benefits.
Outside the zone
A father contacted us when the principal at his daughter’s school told him she could no longer attend the school, since the family lived outside the catchment area. After our Office contacted the principal and superintendent, the daughter was allowed to stay at the school for another year, and the …
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A father contacted us when the principal at his daughter’s school told him she could no longer attend the school, since the family lived outside the catchment area.
No place like home
A mother of a teenage boy with autism sought our Office’s help after her son was restricted to 45 minutes of school per day due to behavioural issues. She wanted to home-school her son, but the board insisted he come to class for 45 minutes every day. After our staff facilitated communications …
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A mother of a teenage boy with autism sought our Office’s help after her son was restricted to 45 minutes of school per day due to behavioural issues.
