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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/system-error
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/specialist-case
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/sorry-situation
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/snow-problem
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/signal-co-ordination
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/second-chance
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/rural-bus-route-dilemma
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/retroactive-relief
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/rental-funding-issues
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/pressed-cash
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/painful-delay
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/outside-zone
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.
/en/our-work/case-stories/no-place-home-0
No parking
A woman who was working temporarily in Ontario and renting a house with no private parking complained to us when the municipality denied her a street parking permit because her vehicle had out-of-province plates. We confirmed that this is the municipality's policy, but it is reviewing its permit …
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A woman who was working temporarily in Ontario and renting a house with no private parking complained to us when the municipality denied her a street parking permit because her vehicle had out-of-province plates.
/en/our-work/case-stories/no-parking
No answer
A woman on a waiting list for a popular, limited-enrolment college program called our Office for help when she could not get any information from the college about whether she had been accepted. We discovered that for this program, the college only made acceptance offers to students over the phone, …
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A woman on a waiting list for a popular, limited-enrolment college program called our Office for help when she could not get any information from the college about whether she had been accepted.
/en/our-work/case-stories/no-answer
New identity
After living on the streets for many years, a man sought our help in obtaining valid identification so he could apply for full-time work. His application for a new birth certificate was denied because he had provided incorrect information about his mother. Our staff explored other options for the …
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After living on the streets for many years, a man sought our help in obtaining valid identification so he could apply for full-time work.
/en/our-work/case-stories/new-identity
Lack of clear mechanism
We received complaints of alleged violations of the councillor code of conduct in a township. While reviewing the complaints, we determined that the code of conduct wasn't readily available to the public, and there was no clear mechanism for making a complaint. Immediately following our inquiries, …
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We received complaints of alleged violations of the councillor code of conduct in a township.
/en/our-work/case-stories/lack-clear-mechanism
Justice delayed
An inmate complained that he had sat in jail for days after becoming eligible for parole because a parole hearing had not been scheduled for him. He had signed a consent form to delay his hearing past his parole eligibility date, but said he had only done so because he was told the Parole Board was …
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An inmate complained that he had sat in jail for days after becoming eligible for parole because a parole hearing had not been scheduled for him.
/en/our-work/case-stories/justice-delayed
Home school solution
A teenage boy with autism who was only permitted to attend class for 45 minutes a day due to aggression issues was refusing to return to school because of an incident when police were called. His mother suggested the school board assist with providing home schooling, but the board insisted the boy …
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A teenage boy with autism who was only permitted to attend class for 45 minutes a day due to aggression issues was refusing to return to school because of an incident when police were called.
/en/our-work/case-stories/home-school-solution
Held at the border
A mother whose support payments from her ex-husband were collected through an enforcement agency in the U.S. complained that the FRO would not release any of it to her because it didn’t have the necessary documentation from a U.S. court. She had even travelled to the U.S. in an attempt to get the …
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A mother whose support payments from her ex-husband were collected through an enforcement agency in the U.S. complained that the FRO would not release any of it to her because it didn’t have the necessary documentation from a U.S. court.
