Case Stories

Showing 55 to 63 of 67 items

Caught in Red Tape

Ms. D came to Canada in 1989 and applied for refugee status. She was given a permit to work and a temporary Social Insurance Number, but was later denied landed status in September 2010. This meant Ms. D lost the ability to work and was not eligible for Employment Insurance. She appealed the decision, but in the meantime, Ms. D was unable to work and needing money. She went to the Toronto Employment and Social Services (TESS) office, where she told by staff that she needed to apply by telephone.

The Grass Isn’t Greener

In 2009, the City did some work in front of Mr. A’s home. After having to dig up part of his yard, the laid gravel and new sod. Mr. A, however, complained several times to the City that the grass wasn’t growing.

“But I Can Still See It Sitting There”

Someone left a broken stroller on Ms. K’s lawn. She tried to move the stroller to the lane at the back of the house where her garbage is picked up, but the stroller was too heavy and too big to fit between the houses. She called 311 to ask if someone from the City could pick it up. She was given a tracking number and told it would be picked up in 72 hours. That didn’t happen.

Can’t Get No Compaction

Mr. Y and Mr. Z had a garbage compactor at the back of their apartment units. They were no longer using the compactor, but were being charged extra fees for it. They called Solid Waste to complain about the extra fees and were told to weld the compactor shut, making it inoperable. Mr. Y and Mr. Z did this, but kept receiving bills.

Up the Downspout

Ms. C’s basement had been flooding for more than three years. As she did not use the basement, she had not noticed the extent of the problem until she saw sludge backing up into the plumbing on the upper floors. Ms. C approached Toronto Water.

No ID, No Insulin, No Cheque

We received a call from Mr. N, who was in a City of Toronto social services office in a state of crisis. He told us that he had lost his wallet, so had no money and no ID after losing his wallet. He was diabetic and had not had insulin in two days, but City staff at the social services office had told Mr. N that they could not help him without identification.

Taking Responsibility for a Shared Tree

Mr. E has a Norway maple in front of his home, more than half of which is on City property. In April 2009, a storm broke a limb on the tree and it was hanging dangerously. In the past, the City has pruned the tree under the boundary line street tree policy, so Mr. E phoned the City for assistance. He was told, however, that the tree was privately owned and therefore his responsibility.

Small Mistake, Big Effect

Ms. M is a single mother and full-time student who receives monthly support cheques from the City. Ms. M, who was upset because the City mistakenly deducted too much money from her benefit cheques and the decline in income had a serious effect, tried many times to get the City to correct the deduction.

Surprise Fire Hydrant Appears on Lawn

In 2009, Ms. P arrived home to see a fire hydrant in the middle of her lawn. She contacted the City, wanting to know why she had not been informed ahead of time, and whether the City could move the hydrant to a less prominent position.