TORONTO’S LAST RESORT REP
Read the results of three probes by Ombudsman Susan Opler, who handles resident complaints about the city,
Aman robbed of his chance to object to a neighbour’s home addition, a driver robbed of his chance to fight parking tickets and a woman robbed of her ability to stop noise blasting through her wall. Toronto Ombudsman Susan Opler heard the residents’ complaints and reported Thursday on her attempts to take city staff to task.
The ombudsman is the “office of last resort,” the person Torontonians can turn to when city officials can’t or won’t settle complaints. Here are summaries of the three cases Opler highlighted in one of her reports:
A man knew nothing about his neighbour building a two-storey addition that, he says, looks directly into his backyard until the addition started going up. He learned that it was approved by the Etobicoke-York committee of adjustment at a hearing he knew nothing about.
City staff told the ombudsman an apparent computer glitch resulted in 20 of 77 affected neighbours not getting notices of the hearing. They later sent apology notes but have not found the source of the glitch.
Staff have been told to be diligent about checking everyone gets notices but “cannot guarantee that a similar error will not happen again.”
The ombudsman told staff to monitor glitches and report back.
A North York woman complained to licensing staff about “construction noise” and other racket coming from the other side of her semi-detached house. City staff gave her a log to chronicle noise but told her not to include hammering, drilling and other construction noise.
A supervisor later said such noise would be considered but, by the time charges were drafted, the six-month limitation period had passed and by- law charges could not be laid. The ombudsman’s recommendations include a supervisor being assigned to the woman’s case, clarifying with staff how to handle noise complaints, ensuring complainants know about the six-month limitation and considering an “alternative dispute resolution” system.
AQuebec man complained the city wouldn’t let him fight three parking tickets in court. Staff wrongly told him there was no way for nonOntarians to do so.
City staff told the ombudsman that, under the court-based parking ticket system now being phased out, they had no way to pursue out-ofprovince drivers.
The ombudsman told staff to determine how to provide the legal right of trial for non-Ontarians ticketed before Aug. 28, under the old system. She was assured that under the new city-run administrative tribunal system for parking tickets, non-Ontarians have equal appeal rights.