Our Office and phone lines will be closed on Tuesday, July 1. Our services will resume on Wednesday, July 2 at 9 a.m. Complaints can still be filed using our online complaint form or via email at info@ombudsman.on.ca.
After members of her family complained to our Office, we discovered the OPGT had made numerous errors in managing a woman’s affairs – failing to pay her mortgage and utilities for several months. It also neglected to send information about the woman’s finances to the Ontario Disability Support …
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After members of her family complained to our Office, we discovered the OPGT had made numerous errors in managing a woman’s affairs – failing to pay her mortgage and utilities for several months.
Clarifying the process
A parent complained to our office after the school board looked into her conflict-of-interest complaint about two trustees who participated in decisions to close a local high school. The board's director of education had found there was no conflict. In our review of how the board handled the …
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A parent complained to our office after the school board looked into her conflict-of-interest complaint about two trustees who participated in decisions to close a local high school.
Clarifying our jurisdiction
A town clerk contacted our office after the local council, which was considering establishing a code of conduct, expressed the view that it did not need to appoint an Integrity Commissioner, because any complaints related to the code of conduct could be forwarded to the Ombudsman for review. We …
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A town clerk contacted our office after the local council, which was considering establishing a code of conduct, expressed the view that it did not need to appoint an Integrity Commissioner, because any complaints related to the code of conduct could be forwarded to the Ombudsman for review.
Cars curbed
A woman complained to us after trying for months to get a school board to respond to her safety concerns about vehicles regularly driving up onto a curb on school property near an entrance for young children. After our staff contacted board officials, they agreed there was an issue, installed “no …
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A woman complained to us after trying for months to get a school board to respond to her safety concerns about vehicles regularly driving up onto a curb on school property near an entrance for young children.
Calculated distance
We received a complaint that several students in the same neighbourhood were deemed ineligible for busing despite believing they lived within the school's distance requirements policy, and that the board would not provide the walk distance calculation to the complainant or other parents. We made …
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We received a complaint that several students in the same neighbourhood were deemed ineligible for busing despite believing they lived within the school's distance requirements policy, and that the board would not provide the walk distance calculation to the complainant or other parents.
Buy the book
A student who bought $1,000 worth of textbooks for her studies at the suddenly-closed Everest College complained that foot-dragging by officials at the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities caused her to miss a deadline to receive a 60% refund on the books, which were now worthless to …
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A student who bought $1,000 worth of textbooks for her studies at the suddenly-closed Everest College complained that foot-dragging by officials at the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities caused her to miss a deadline to receive a 60% refund on the books, which were now worthless to her.
Bus stop safety concerns
A parent complained to our office after a school board decided to move their child's bus stop 300 metres to a busier intersection. Our Office reviewed the board's transportation policy and made inquiries about the steps that the board took to assess the safety of the new bus stop. The complaint was …
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A parent complained to our office after a school board decided to move their child's bus stop 300 metres to a busier intersection.
Bureaucratic brake
A senior complained that after he sent a medical report to the Ministry as required for his driver’s licence, he was told it could not be found and he would have to submit it again. In the interim, they suspended his licence, saying it would take four weeks for the form to be processed. Ombudsman …
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A senior complained that after he sent a medical report to the Ministry as required for his driver’s licence, he was told it could not be found and he would have to submit it again.
Billing bungle
A man complained after he received a municipal hydro bill of $1,300, when his normal monthly bill was around $29. The company told him his bills had been incorrect for the past two years, but would not provide him evidence of the errors. After Ombudsman staff spoke with the hydro company’s director …
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A man complained after he received a municipal hydro bill of $1,300, when his normal monthly bill was around $29.
Better, not late
The mother of a kindergarten student with special needs complained that her son’s bus was repeatedly late and that he had once been dropped off at the wrong address. One month into the school year, he had not yet attended a full day. At our suggestion, she complained to the board’s student …
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The mother of a kindergarten student with special needs complained that her son’s bus was repeatedly late and that he had once been dropped off at the wrong address.
Best defence
A senior who was charged with threatening police complained that Legal Aid Ontario told him he was no longer eligible for their services after the Crown decided it would not seek to put him in jail if convicted. Our Office determined that although Legal Aid eligibility normally involves cases where …
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A senior who was charged with threatening police complained that Legal Aid Ontario told him he was no longer eligible for their services after the Crown decided it would not seek to put him in jail if convicted.
Back in action
An Everest College student who was away from the school on medical leave when it abruptly closed was turned down for assistance in enrolling in a new program because his college record did not list him as an active student at the time of the closure. When Ombudsman staff provided Training …
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An Everest College student who was away from the school on medical leave when it abruptly closed was turned down for assistance in enrolling in a new program because his college record did not list him as an active student at the time of the closure.
An arresting mistake
A father contacted us from jail after he was arrested for failing to pay child support arrears to the Family Responsibility Office. He was unaware that he owed any support, and he had custody of his child when he was arrested. Our review determined that the FRO’s notices were sent to the wrong …
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A father contacted us from jail after he was arrested for failing to pay child support arrears to the Family Responsibility Office.
Admit one
A would-be Bachelor of Education student complained that he was denied admission because of a mistake in his application due to a miscommunication with the university. We referred him to the university’s dispute resolution service. Read about how we helped other people in our Selected cases . … …
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A would-be Bachelor of Education student complained that he was denied admission because of a mistake in his application due to a miscommunication with the university.
A processing predicament
A woman complained to us after her acceptance into a university program through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC), was somehow not processed, meaning she lost her spot and was put on a waitlist. Our Office referred her to OUAC first, to determine whether the error occurred as …
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A woman complained to us after her acceptance into a university program through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC), was somehow not processed, meaning she lost her spot and was put on a wait list.
A matter of exposure
A student complained that one of his female classmates was refused entry into class for having her shoulders exposed. He emailed the school board and, not receiving a response, reached out to our Office. Our staff facilitated communication between the school board and the youth, who was satisfied …
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A student complained that one of his female classmates was refused entry into class for having her shoulders exposed.
A learning experience
A would-be Bachelor of Education student complained that he was denied admission because he included a one-on-one teaching experience in his application - he said the university did not make it clear that he should not do so. We referred him to the university’s dispute resolution service. Our staff …
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A would-be Bachelor of Education student complained that he was denied admission because he included a one-on-one teaching experience in his application - he said the university did not make it clear that he should not do so.
Zero balance
A student enrolled in a college’s early childhood education program, but was unable to attend. She did inform the college, but because she missed the deadline to withdraw from the course, she received a grade of zero and was asked to pay $1,400 in outstanding program fees. Our review determined …
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A student enrolled in a college’s early childhood education program, but was unable to attend. She did inform the college, but because she missed the deadline to withdraw from the course.
Wires crossed
We received complaints from four residents in one building who each received catch-up bills from their municipal hydro company for $2,000-5,000. The company told us it had discovered a wiring error in the building that caused bills to go to the wrong units. A metering company had investigated, and …
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We received complaints from four residents in one building who each received catch-up bills from their municipal hydro company for $2,000-5,000.
To be fair
A student who had been expelled from university after an academic fraud inquiry complained to us that the university failed to respond to its own ombudsman’s report on his case, which raised concerns about the fairness of the inquiry and the sanctions it imposed. The university had changed its …
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A student who had been expelled from university after an academic fraud inquiry complained to us that the university failed to respond to its own ombudsman’s report on his case, which raised concerns about the fairness of the inquiry and the sanctions it imposed.
