Annual Report Issn 1708-0851
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2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT ISSN 1708-0851 Find us on Facebook u facebook.com/OntarioOmbudsman Follow us on Twitter u twitter.com/Ont_Ombudsman Watch us on YouTube u youtube.com/OntarioOmbudsman www.ombudsman.on.ca June 19, 2012 The Honourable Dave Levac Speaker Legislative Assembly Province of Ontario Queen’s Park Dear Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to submit my Annual Report for the period of April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012, pursuant to section 11 of the Ombudsman Act, so that you may table it before the Legislative Assembly. Yours truly, André Marin Ombudsman Bell Trinity Square 483 Bay Street, 10th Floor, South Tower Toronto, Ontario M5G 2C9 Telephone: 416-586-3300 Complaints Line: 1-800-263-1830 Fax: 416-586-3485 TTY: 1-866-411-4211 Website: www.ombudsman.on.ca Facebook: Ontario Ombudsman Twitter: @Ont_Ombudsman 1 Office of the Ombudsman Table of Contents Ombudsman’s Message: Limit Spending, Not Fairness .........................5 Investigating the investigators ................................................................................................................6 Clear as MUSH .......................................................................................................................................7 Give us an “H” – Hospitals ......................................................................................................................8 Policing the police ................................................................................................................................10 Putting the accountability squeeze on Ornge ........................................................................................10 Back to the future .................................................................................................................................12 The Year in Review .................................................................................13 Beyond Scrutiny: The Push for MUSH ................................................................................................... 13 “M”- Municipalities ..............................................................................................................................15 “U” - Universities..................................................................................................................................15 “S” - School boards .............................................................................................................................15 “H” - Hospitals .....................................................................................................................................15 Losing patience with patient relations .......................................................................................16 The exception proves the rule ...................................................................................................17 Long-term care homes .........................................................................................................................17 Children’s aid societies .........................................................................................................................18 Police ...................................................................................................................................................19 Operations Overview ........................................................................................................................... 20 Complaint trends and significant cases in 2011-2012 ..........................................................................21 Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services ...........................................................21 Correctional facilities – Complaints from inmates ..................................................................21 Private Security and Investigative Services Branch ................................................................21 Ministry of Community and Social Services...............................................................................22 Family Responsibility Office ...............................................................................................22 Services for children with special needs ..............................................................................23 Assistance for Children with Severe Disability benefit program ................................................23 Ontario Disability Support Program – Email communication with recipients ...............................23 Services for adults with developmental disabilities ................................................................24 Ministry of the Attorney General ...............................................................................................24 Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee ............................................................................24 Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario – Use of Skype .................................................................25 Ministry of Energy.....................................................................................................................26 Hydro One ......................................................................................................................26 Ministry of Transportation ........................................................................................................26 Licensing Service Branch – “Master” licences ......................................................................26 Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities ...........................................................................27 Private Career Colleges Branch ..........................................................................................27 Training and Consultation ..................................................................................................................... 28 Training ................................................................................................................................................29 Comments from “Sharpening Your Teeth” participants, November 2011 ...............................................30 Consultation with other agencies ..........................................................................................................31 Communications and Outreach ............................................................................................................ 32 Communications ..................................................................................................................................32 Traditional media ......................................................................................................................32 Social media .............................................................................................................................33 Website and mobile app ...........................................................................................................33 Outreach ..............................................................................................................................................34 And the award goes to… .....................................................................................................................34 Speeches .................................................................................................................................35 Awards .....................................................................................................................................35 Events ......................................................................................................................................35 Special Ombudsman Response Team ................................................................................................... 36 SORT investigations completed in 2011-2012 ......................................................................................36 Oversight Undermined – Ministry of the Attorney General and the Special Investigations Unit....36 Non-emergency medical transportation services – Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Ministry of Transportation ............................................39 Limited funding of Herceptin – Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care .....................................40 SORT assessments in 2011-2012 ........................................................................................................41 Wind turbines – Ministry of the Environment .............................................................................41 Ongoing SORT investigations ................................................................................................................42 Monitoring of drivers with uncontrolled hypoglycemia – Ministry of Transportation....................42 Use of force in jails – Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services .........................42 Ontario Provincial Police handling of operational stress injuries – Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services ...........................................................42 Updates on previous SORT investigations .............................................................................................43 Monitoring of long-term care homes – Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care .........................43 Caught in the Act – Expansion of police powers for Toronto G20 summit – Ministry of