The Ombudsman investigates individual complaints and major systemic issues under the Ombudsman Act. Read the selected cases below and use the filters to search by year and / or topic.
February 25, 2021
25 February 2021
After her second suicide attempt, a 15-year-old girl contacted us from the hospital.
January 29, 2021
29 January 2021
A 16-year-old youth complained to us that staff at his group home threatened to lock the refrigerator after he helped himself to food at night when he was hungry.
November 24, 2020
24 November 2020
A woman worried about the health and safety of a young relative complained to us that the local children’s aid society (CAS) had done “nothing” in response to her concerns.
October 29, 2020
29 October 2020
A 16-year-old who has a developmental disability and lives in a group home contacted us to raise questions about his rights.
A 13-year-old racialized youth complained to us after her children’s aid society (CAS) called the police to transport her to a new group home – which they did by handcuffing her and placing her in the back of a police vehicle.
September 28, 2020
28 September 2020
A 16-year-old youth living in a group home complained to our Office that staff at the home were not allowing him to contact certain members of his family because his mother – his legal guardian – did not want him speaking to them.
August 28, 2020
28 August 2020
A 15-year-old emailed us that she was being physically and verbally abused by her mother, and had started to self-harm and even attempted suicide as a result.
July 31, 2020
31 July 2020
A 16-year-old living in a foster home sought our help when she was invited to spend the night at a friend’s house, but her foster care agency denied her request, citing COVID-19 restrictions.
July 6, 2020
6 July 2020
An 11-year-old told us she felt unsafe in her group home after another resident threatened her with a knife.
A young person who was serving a youth sentence at an adult correctional facility complained to us that he was not being provided access to services required by his court-ordered plan.
March 31, 2020
31 March 2020
A Black youth living in a rural group home with little access to public transit complained to us that staff would not drive him to get a haircut.
February 26, 2020
26 February 2020
The mother of a teenager with developmental disability complained to us about an incident involving her daughter at a group home.
January 31, 2020
31 January 2020
A mother called our Children and Youth Unit after her local children’s aid society told her it would not review her complaint due to a lack of information.
November 29, 2019
29 November 2019
A 16-year-old youth in care of a children’s aid society felt that her needs were not being met since she had a change in caseworkers.
October 31, 2019
31 October 2019
When a woman complained to us about how she and her family were treated by a children’s aid society, we first advised her to contact her caseworker and raise the issue through the society’s internal process.
September 30, 2019
30 September 2019
Unhappy with his placement at a foster home, a 17-year-old asked his children’s aid society caseworker for a placement change, only to be told the home he was staying in was best for him.
July 31, 2019
31 July 2019
A 16-year-old girl living in a group home told us she had asked her children’s aid society worker to initiate a review of her placement because she felt unsafe, but the caseworker didn't follow up with her.
May 31, 2019
31 May 2019
A pregnant youth called us for help when she went for an ultrasound and was told her health card was cancelled.
A young person in a treatment group home called us, saying she felt like she had no one to talk to.
A 15-year-old who had been in a group home for three years sought our help in moving into a foster home where he could become more independent.