Case Stories
Ensuring the City Shares Accurate Shelter/Respite Capacity Numbers
Early in the pandemic, we started to hear from community advocates and members of the public, who said that people experiencing homelessness were being turned away from shelters and respite sites because there was no space available, despite the City publishing information showing there was space.
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Helping a TCHC Tenant Get Safe Housing
Sam, a TCHC tenant, contacted us to complain that he had been displaced from his apartment due to mould.
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Upholding Fairness in the City’s Process
Toronto Employment and Social Services (TESS) provides financial assistance to the families of deceased Toronto residents whose estates do not have sufficient funds to cover the cost of a basic funeral, burial and/or cremation. Two different families told us they had applied for this financial support, but their applications were denied.
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Looking into Enforcement of a Speeding Fine
A court convicted Mr. H of speeding and fined him. Although he had asked about how to appeal his conviction, he did not start the appeal process. Mr. H temporarily lost the privilege to drive, incurred additional licence reinstatement fees and insurance costs and was unable to use car sharing apps.
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Improving Communication to TCHC Tenants
In July 2018, Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) changed its policy and procedures for unit transfer applications by tenants in crisis situations. As part of this one-time program, TCHC gave Ms. B three choices of buildings to move to (even though the program only required it to offer a unit in one building from the tenant’s approved list). Ms. B asked for more information about the matching process and asked if she could view all three offered units to compare. No one responded to her requests.
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Getting Someone the Help They Need
After being hospitalized, Ms. D had been without stable Personal Support Worker assistance for over two months, despite requiring care. The City’s Seniors and Long-Term Care division’s Homemakers & Nurses Services department had contracted an agency to provide help to Ms. D. The agency had several staffing, scheduling and communication issues, and was not providing adequate service.
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Explaining Waste Removal Service Charges to Property Owners
Mr. P owned a mixed commercial-residential property which he rented out. The City’s Solid Waste Management division had charged him for removing garbage from in front of his property. He called us, upset that warning notices had not been sent to him directly, even though he was responsible for the property.
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Helping Someone Find the Right Place to Complain
Mr. U was concerned about three trees that the City planted on the boulevard next to his home. He worried that they had been planted too close to a gate on his property and to another tree. He was also upset that he had not received notice that the City would be planting the trees in the first place.
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Addressing Fears of Reprisal in City Long-Term Care Homes
We were concerned that fear of reprisal is known to be a systemic issue across long-term care generally, not just within the City of Toronto. We started an Enquiry to explore this issue.
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Ensuring the Safety of TCHC Tenants
Mr. J, a tenant in a high-rise Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) building, called us on a Wednesday in July. He saw that a notice had been posted in the lobby of his building that morning, stating that the building’s electricity would be turned off for the next two days to allow for major hydro vault work.
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