Law and order

We can help you with concerns about law and order in Ontario, including:

Police oversight and training
Correctional services (jails and detention centres)
Youth justice centres
Tribunals and court services

We work to make sure the rights of people who come in contact with police or Ontario’s correctional system are respected, and that people dealing with tribunals have access to justice.

Although we cannot take complaints about most police conduct, judges or courts (see below), there are many ways we can help. Our services are confidential and free.

For example, we can help with:

Delays in hearings or decisions by administrative tribunals (like the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, the Social Benefits Tribunal or the Landlord and Tenant Board)
Legal aid
Complaints about Ontario correctional facilities
Parole and probation issues

You can complain to us about organizations like:

Ministry of the Attorney General
Ministry of the Solicitor General
Office of the Chief Coroner
Tribunals Ontario (or any of its administrative tribunals)
All Ontario correctional facilities
Ontario Parole Board
Legal Aid Ontario
Office of the Chief Coroner
Office of the Children’s Lawyer
Ontario Provincial Police
Police oversight bodies (Special Investigations Unit, Inspectorate of Policing, Law Enforcement Complaints Agency)

Make a complaint

There are some things we can’t do. We can’t take complaints about:

Decisions of the courts or judges
Lawyers
Municipal and First Nations police services
Police service boards or OPP detachment boards

If we can’t help, we’ll tell you who can.

Still have questions?

See the full list of organizations you can complain about
Read our Frequently Asked Questions
Contact us with your questions

How we’ve helped

Discover how our team has helped people deal with their concerns about policing, corrections or justice issues in Ontario:

Traditional medicines

An Indigenous inmate told us he had not been able to smudge regularly at his facility, and he wasn’t allowed traditional medicines such as cedar, sage, sweetgrass and tobacco.

Man sitting in front of laptop at office

Email retrieved

A man contacted us in frustration after his application to have his issue heard by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) was dismissed.

Tombstone with pink flowers resting on it

Added grief

A woman whose common-law spouse had died while they were living in a homeless shelter complained to us that the Chief Coroner’s Office had buried him even though she had requested to claim the body.

Still have questions?

How we’ve helped

Traditional medicines

Email retrieved

Added grief

Ready to make a complaint?

Learn more about our work in this area