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The Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario will be closed on Monday, August 4. Our phone lines will also be closed.
Our services will resume on Tuesday, August 5 at 9 a.m.

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Displaying 121 - 140 of 165

Fish story

When new signs were installed at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry's Fish Culture Station in North Bay, some Francophone residents noticed something fishy - the signs were in English only. Photos of them circulated on social media and in the local newspaper, and caught the notice of …
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When new signs were installed at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry's Fish Culture Station in North Bay, some Francophone residents noticed something fishy - the signs were in English only.
/en/our-work/case-stories/fish-story

A message in French will follow

With the current pandemic and the necessity to work from home, using conference call lines has become the norm in many organizations. The French Language Services Unit received a complaint that the greeting message on one of the conference call lines being used by the Ontario Public Service (OPS) …
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With the current pandemic and the necessity to work from home, using conference call lines has become the norm in many organizations.
/en/our-work/case-stories/message-french-will-follow

Record time

A driver who moved to B.C. sought our help after waiting for a copy of his driving record from Ontario for 7 weeks. He needed the record to start his new job as a transit operator. When he didn’t receive it after the advertised delivery period of 10-15 business days, he contacted the Ministry …
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A driver who moved to B.C. sought our help after waiting for a copy of his driving record from Ontario for 7 weeks.
/en/our-work/case-stories/record-time

Presto change

When attempting to reload her Presto card, a transit rider purchased a monthly Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) pass by mistake. She contacted Metrolinx, which referred her to the TTC, which in turn referred her to Metrolinx. When she still received no response, our Office connected her with …
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When attempting to reload her Presto card, a transit rider purchased a monthly Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) pass by mistake. She contacted Metrolinx, which referred her to the TTC, which in turn referred her to Metrolinx.
/en/our-work/case-stories/presto-change

Claiming responsibility

A man whose vehicle was damaged by a large pothole complained to us after the Ministry of Transportation’s adjuster denied his claim and the road construction company denied responsibility. After we raised the matter with Ministry officials, they investigated further and determined that the …
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A man whose vehicle was damaged by a large pothole complained to us after the Ministry of Transportation’s adjuster denied his claim and the road construction company denied responsibility.
/en/our-work/case-stories/claiming-responsibility

Lost in the mail

A woman came to us in frustration after trying several times to obtain her renewed driver’s licence. Each time she visited ServiceOntario, she was given a temporary licence and told a permanent one would be mailed to her. But after 6 months and several visits, she still hadn’t received it. Our …
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A woman came to us in frustration after trying several times to obtain her renewed driver’s licence. Each time she visited ServiceOntario, she was given a temporary licence and told a permanent one would be mailed to her.
/en/our-work/case-stories/lost-mail-0

Our opinion matters

An education worker complained to our French Language Services Unit about a unilingual English survey about technology that was being conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Education. Because it was in English only, she said the survey - done by a third party - excluded the views of Francophone …
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An education worker complained to our French Language Services Unit about a unilingual English survey about technology that was being conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Education.
/en/our-work/case-stories/our-opinion-matters

Essential licence

A woman whose job was deemed an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic sought our help when her driver’s licence was suspended due to a medical matter and she was temporarily unable to get to work. Our staff were able to facilitate the reinstatement of her licence within a few days. … …
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A woman whose job was deemed an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic sought our help when her driver’s licence was suspended due to a medical matter and she was temporarily unable to get to work.
/en/our-work/case-stories/essential-licence

Failing the test

A man visited a London DriveTest centre with his son, who wanted to take the theory component of the road test, and requested services in French. He told us the person at the counter was unable to provide services in French and did not try to find a French-speaking colleague to help. Our staff …
Body
A man visited a London DriveTest centre with his son, who wanted to take the theory component of the road test, and requested services in French.
/en/our-work/case-stories/failing-test

Hold, s’il vous plaît

A francophone man complained to our French Language Services Unit that he waited an hour on the phone for service in French when he called the disability eligibility decision unit of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. He finally hung up in frustration, called back and chose …
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A francophone man complained to our French Language Services Unit that he waited an hour on the phone for service in French when he called the disability eligibility decision unit of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.
/en/our-work/case-stories/hold-sil-vous-plait

Au revoir, not goodbye

A woman complained to our French Language Services Unit that the Superior Court in Toronto could not serve her in person in French, resulting in a wasted trip and frustration. Our staff contacted the administrative services of the Superior Court to assess the lack of services in French and to …
Body
A woman complained to our French Language Services Unit that the Superior Court in Toronto could not serve her in person in French, resulting in a wasted trip and frustration.
/en/our-work/case-stories/au-revoir-not-goodbye

Website faux pas

A French-speaking woman sought our help after she encountered difficulties with the website of the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office. Not only was the French version of the site not equivalent to the English version, it also had sections in English. We contacted the manager of the organization, …
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A French-speaking woman sought our help after she encountered difficulties with the website of the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office.
/en/our-work/case-stories/website-faux-pas

Lacking language

A man who was following the complaints process regarding a bilingual community legal clinic reached out to us after receiving an English-only version of the clinic’s complaints policy. We contacted Legal Aid Ontario, which ensured the full translation of the document into French. Learn more about …
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A man who was following the complaints process regarding a bilingual community legal clinic reached out to us after receiving an English-only version of the clinic’s complaints policy.
/en/our-work/case-stories/lacking-language

The road to French services

We received a complaint from a man who had recently moved to Canada. Although his motorcycle licence was valid in his home country, he was required to re-take the test in Ontario. The man had been assigned an English-speaking examiner for his motorcycle road test, even though he requested a …
Body
We received a complaint from a man who had recently moved to Canada. Although his motorcycle licence was valid in his home country, he was required to re-take the test in Ontario. The man had been assigned an English-speaking examiner for his motorcycle road test, even though he requested a French-speaking examiner in advance at a designated DriveTest centre.
/en/our-work/case-stories/road-french-services

Welcome home

A woman who had lived abroad for many years returned to Ontario and applied to exchange her foreign licence for an Ontario licence. She was asked to provide the date on which her out-of-country licence was originally issued, but it was so long ago, she had no such record. She was told she would …
Body
A woman who had lived abroad for many years returned to Ontario and applied to exchange her foreign licence for an Ontario licence.
/en/our-work/case-stories/welcome-home-0

Proof of payment

A driver who required his licence for work sought our help when it was suddenly suspended due to a fine he had incurred 27 years earlier. He had been convicted of impaired driving in 1990 and fined $735. He believed he had paid the fine at the time, but in order to get his licence back, he agreed …
Body
A driver who required his licence for work sought our help when it was suddenly suspended due to a fine he had incurred 27 years earlier. He had been convicted of impaired driving in 1990 and fined $735.
/en/our-work/case-stories/proof-payment

Passed test

A 74-year-old woman who delayed a required driver’s test so she could have hip surgery sought our help after the Ministry cancelled her driver’s licence. She was required to take several tests to keep her licence after having a car accident. When the opportunity to have surgery came up, she asked …
Body
A 74-year-old woman who delayed a required driver’s test so she could have hip surgery sought our help after the Ministry cancelled her driver’s licence. She was required to take several tests to keep her licence after having a car accident.
/en/our-work/case-stories/passed-test

Mail fail

A commercial truck driver complained to us that his licence had been downgraded and he had not been able to get an explanation or assistance from ServiceOntario or DriveTest. Our inquiries with the Ministry determined that he had completed all the required tests to maintain his commercial licence, …
Body
A commercial truck driver complained to us that his licence had been downgraded and he had not been able to get an explanation or assistance from ServiceOntario or DriveTest.
/en/our-work/case-stories/mail-fail

Suspended State

O N TA R I O O N TA R I O ’ S WAT C H D O G SuSpended STATe Investigation into the adequacy and effectiveness of the Ministry of Transportation’s notifcations and communications with drivers about licence suspensions and reinstatements OMBUDSMAN REPORT | PAUL DUBÉ, OMBUDSMAN OF ONTARIO | SEPTEMBER …
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Investigation into the adequacy and effectiveness of the Ministry of Transportation’s notifications and communications with drivers about licence suspensions and reinstatements.
/en/our-work/investigations/suspended-state

Hits the spot

When a woman hit a pothole on a county road that damaged her vehicle, she tried to seek reimbursement. The county told her it was the Ministry of Transportation’s jurisdiction, but the Ministry told her the opposite. After our staff contacted both levels of government, Ministry officials determined …
Body
When a woman hit a pothole on a county road that damaged her vehicle, she tried to seek reimbursement.
/en/our-work/case-stories/hits-spot

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The Ontario Ombudsman’s work takes place on traditional Indigenous territories across the province we now call Ontario, and we are thankful to be able to work and live on this land. 

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Outside Ontario: 416-586-3300
info@ombudsman.on.ca

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