I want to sue ODSP and human rights complaint
jojo
Was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2003 when I was in college at the age
of 33. Had to go on OW until I got on ODSP because I needed the health
coverage and miniscule amount of money to help me as I fought for my
life. And trust me, it was a fight.... 2 years of it.
The OW worker sees a payment in my banking records to Hydro Quebec but
I had moved to Ontario. He accuses me right to my face that I am lying
about where I live because I don't want cancer care in Quebec because
it's so bad. This was 2 days after finding out that I might die of
cancer and this scum tells me this right to my face. He proceeds to
hassle me and holds my application for ODSP when he has nothing to do
with ODSP, but I didn't know that. and this guy kept me from getting
on ODSP for 9 months. Asking for paper after paper and saying he never
got documents I dropped off. He was doing this to my while I was doing
chemo and getting a bone marrow transplant. I eventually put on a mask
and went outside when I wasn't supposed to because my immune sustem
was so shot from the bone marrow transplant and got my MPP to call
this dirt bag and find out what was going on. He never got in trouble
for lying through his teeth like that and treating a caner patient
like a dog.
Once on ODSP things got worse. My worker here in Ottawa is named
Joanne Banville and she would cancel my benefits and force me to go in
to see here when I was so ill. The first time I saw here she had
cancelled my benefits because the address on my license was in Sudbury
Ontario. It was because that's where I did the test and once I was
sick it was the last thing I was concerned about changing. She had the
nerve to tell me that having cancer was no excuse for not changing the
address. I was stunned when she said that and I started getting mad
and asking her what the hell she was talking about. She got up, turned
around and walked out on me leaving me sitting in this little room and
she never came back. Awful woman.
Once I was feeling good enough to return to college I asked her what
ODSP offered someone like me if I wanted to return to school. She
looked me in the eye, with hate, it's like she hated me, and pointed
to a pamphlet on the wall about training people to re-enter the work
force. Not what I needed so I had to cancel ODSP and borrow $25,000
over 3 years to return to college which was mostly living expenses.
So, with the original money I borrowed I now owe $52,000.
Then I find out after that I should have been told that they will
cover my living expenses and I could return to college. I started
making phone calls and writing letters to the Dalton McGuinty what was
the minister of health at the time begging them to help me fight these
horrible people. It all fell on deaf ears though.
What ODSP would do is pretend like they were looking into, spend a
year making me run around getting document after document then out of
the blue a letter would show up saying "You had your chance to contest
years ago and didn't. Case Closed"
They did this twice to me... 2 years that took. After the second time
I could't take it anymore and hired a lawyer. They did the EXACT same
thing to the lawyer. Get this get that..... then a year later a
letter... "You had your chance". That cost me $3000. Obviously a
tactic to wear me down but all they were doing was make me hate them
even more.
Now I could include the Ombudsman and thankfully my story landed on
someone's desk that was disgusted by what they read. They started to
investigate everything I had said, time lines and all (I have left A
LOT out to make this poast short as possible) and they even tried
lying through their teeth to the Ombudsman.
So, 5 years of fighting which felt like one long nervous breakdown,
they were told to give me the money that would have come my way if
they had not lied through their teeth to me. $18,000 was put on my
student loan. Then I wanted the lawyers fees they forced me to pay and
also the interest paid on the loans I was wrongly forced to borrow.
I get a letter saying, and I'm paraphrasing, "we don't have to but we
will send you a cheque for $5,700 in a few weeks just to end this
situation but first you must sign this document absolving us from all
fault and you are not allowed to come after us for anything again".
Do I sign this paper and free them from all blame or can I go after
them for more? I am also thinking human rights complaint for denying
me a social service on the basis of a disability.
Any advice?
Denny B.
Hi
You mentioned you had lawyer fees to pay - may i ask why you didn't ask this advice youre asking here, to your laywer? Frankly this would have been the most stable source of information as to sign the sheet or not. I hope you still have access to that lawyer, because that would surely be the best answer, considering they already know the details of your case. Best to you. Youre not alone btw, most people are treated with contempt by workers, seems they get burned out too fast and take it out on clients.
> Subject: [odspfireside: 38702 ] I want to sue ODSP and human rights complaint
> From: johnhi...@hotmail.com
> To: odspfi...@googlegroups.com
StarTears
I get a letter saying, and I'm paraphrasing, "we don't have to but we
will send you a cheque for $5,700 in a few weeks just to end this
situation but first you must sign this document absolving us from all
fault and you are not allowed to come after us for anything again".
Do I sign this paper and free them from all blame or can I go after
them for more? I am also thinking human rights complaint for denying
me a social service on the basis of a disability.
Any advice?
justice4odsp
you've been through. The media is starting to publish more and more
stories of disgusting abuses against prisoners and people with a mental
illness. I wonder if they would grab on to your story. If I were you,
I'd even consider sending this story as a letter to the editor to every
newspaper around the province... especially the national papers like the
Globe, the National Post, and of course, The Star.
As for my opinion of the settlement you have before you, my gut says
don't sign it because it will fully let them off the hook and force you
into silence for life. Then again, if you send off the letter to the
editor before you sign it, you won't be breaking the law that would
force you into silence for life.
Based on the knowledge we have of how little chance we have to get
someone who would defend us, it might be better to sign it and at least
look after yourself so you can do the best that you can to get on with
your life.
After a steady diet of reading Hansards of what went on in the
Legislature during the Mike Harris days, reading through E-laws and
CanlII, the repository of precedent setting cases, I'm not convinced a
Human Rights complaint will solve this one. Nor do I think a Charter
Challenge would work. From what I can see, with my limited legal
knowledge, is that the government has weaved a tangled web that
basically lets them off the hook for abuses through both. The hook is
the exemption for an ameliorated service (a service put in place to
serve a disadvantaged group). To me, this looks like the law says they
are, in theory, untouchable. A good lawyer might help to win the case
because there's tons of cases online (mainly related to the treatment of
criminals) that would help to lay the groundwork to challenge it, but
try getting a lawyer who can take the time to properly fight it.
I've now turned my direction toward finding laws that might help us to
lay civil charges related to negligence, libel, slander, defamation of
character, failure to provide [the basic necessities of life], etc.
To me, your nightmare was started by someone who defamed your character
and, through his actions, failed in just about every level of human
decency imaginable.
It's a tough call. What do others think?
justice4odsp
On 03/08/2011 8:31 PM, jojo wrote:
> Such a long story....
>
> Was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2003 when I was in college at the age
> of 33. Had to go on OW until I got on ODSP because I needed the health
> coverage and miniscule amount of money to help me as I fought for my
> life. And trust me, it was a fight.... 2 years of it....
Atb
sorry you have encountered such abuse in the name of government
support. It certainly shouldn't be that way & it makes me ashamed to
be a Canadian. The best thing I can say is DO NOT UNDER ANY
CIRCUMSTANCES SIGN ANYTHING!
You need to speak to a lawyer before you do anything else. I know you
said you already retained a lawyer & I'm sure it cost a lot of money
you couldn't afford to spend to initially hire that lawyer but you
should at least get a good legal opinion before you proceed. If you
are confident in the lawyer you have been using so far then ask him.
If for whatever reason you can't, won't or don't want to contact that
lawyer or need some assistance paying. Go to Legal Aid & request
approval for a legal opinion certificate to have your case assessed by
a lawyer.
That certificate will allow you to retain a lawyer to review the
situation & relevant case law then write a legal brief on whether you
have a legitimate case that can be covered by legal aid. Which in my
personal non lawyer opinion, you do. I know every time I have had to
retain a lawyer to fight with ODSP/OW my legal expenses have been
covered by a legal aid certificate. Admittedly the certificate rarely
covers the full amount of time & money required to persue a lawsuit
but many lawyers will effectively take the case pro bono in exchange
for a legal aid certificate. Depending on what court the case is filed
in decides how much legal fees the losing party can be held
accountable for.
I know that's not exactly what you are asking but if the settlement
they are offering isn't sufficient then your only recourse will be
filing suit. I'm guessing that small claims court wouldn't be able to
offer a sufficient judgement because of the jurisdictional limits
($10,000 as of the last time I checked). While small claims is simpler
& faster I sincerely doubt it would provide sufficient recourse,
though that of course is up to you.
Its worth repeating since its so important... DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING
without a lawyer reading it & instructing you to sign it. I've made
that mistake before & will never make it again. For example, tomorrow
I will be heading down to legal aid to get a legal aid certificate
myself, so that I don't have to deal with the insurance company
directly & I get a decent settlement from the moron who decided to run
us down with his car & then flee the scene. Can you believe he
actually had the nerve to say he thought he had just hit a curb? Yeah
right, a curb shaped like a brightly lit guy in a wheelchair & his
service dog?!? Besides what curb is a couple feet off the ground &
totals your front end so much you can barely drive?!?
Anyway best of luck. I'm sorry you have had such a hard time with
this. I hope you get treated better from here on out. You certainly
deserve to be treated much better then you were & they had no right or
cause to behave in such a disgusting manner. I'm glad to hear that you
have managed to survive what is obviously a very difficult situation.
You didn't mention but I do hope the cancer is & stays in remission. I
just can't believe (not that I'm doubting you) that you were forced to
go to the office after full body irradiation & bone marrow transplant.
You are very lucky you didn't develop a deadly injection mask or no
mask.
ATB
abrowne
To: ODSP Fireside <odspfi...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 8:31:42 PM
Subject: [odspfireside: 38702 ] I want to sue ODSP and human rights complaint
Chris Carey
Subject: [odspfireside: 38702 ] I want to sue ODSP and human rights complaint
Such a long story....
Was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2003 when I was in college at the age
of 33. Had to go on OW until I got on ODSP because I needed the health
coverage and miniscule amount of money to help me as I fought for my
life. And trust me, it was a fight.... 2 years of it.
Chris Carey
From: jojo <johnhi...@hotmail.com>
To: ODSP Fireside <odspfi...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 8:31 PM
Subject: [odspfireside: 38702 ] I want to sue ODSP and human rights complaint
Was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2003 when I was in college at the age
of 33. Had to go on OW until I got on ODSP because I needed the health
coverage and miniscule amount of money to help me as I fought for my
life. And trust me, it was a fight.... 2 years of it.
Any advice?
erekale...@gmail.com
or 18K - or more time - so focus on your case and the economic loss and let
the otherhuna rights issue go right now - don't waste your money use your
win for something that wil make you stronger and seek the human rights issue
with a strength in numbers approach.....
Everyone - always ask for a new worker if mis delivery and personality
conflict creep in - I always remind anyone in ODSP - that I wish to remain
not on edge - just because you are given a worker and they are your letter
of the alphabet does not mean you can request a change...no one has to be
berated or mistreated like - that....they would not tolerate this in the
workplace - why should you tolerate it from a government employee -
Again the silent witness - the audio recorder ...sound bites can kill a bad
attitude fast.
Have all documents stamped by odsp staff when deliver and a copy to them and
the original stamp you keep
Raise a complaint and take them to task ---they just want to o their job and
go home and like all bullies (bad workers) if you stand up and make bullying
inconvenient and a lot of work for them and dangerous for their career) they
will pick on someone else ....
I would have never left the room - and demanded the manager return and put
in to writing why she did and why they were not delivering the service they
are charged to provide. And I would have sat there and drafted a copy of my
experience while it was fresh in my mind and hand it in stamped and I would
fax everyone in the world copies... and put it online...
While we are required to seek funds - I don't think we are required to seek
debt and ODSP learned from my situation that you cannot cut someone off for
OSAP amounts that cover tuition and books - It took the minister of
Education and her Legal support to call the Minister of CSS to angrily
educate them on their ODSP policies - imagine that - I got to witness it
through cc's - the last I checked the policy it states that you are allowed
to receive an amount for tuition and books and it not affect your
support...maybe it has changed re???
Deaf ears - internet is great - lots of people listening - it is time to
make a strong case for responsible government......
If they are willing to give you $5000 to make you go away - they are seeing
that you could possibly win more and are stopping their loss - hopefully -
I think they owe you anything that you lost cost etc - small claims courts
have a larger maximum now and judges do award for pain suffering - court
costs, opportunity lost etc et
Judges in small claims cut to the chase sometimes - they in my experience
are sometimes better than accountant at assessing damages - I witnessed an
accountant educated by a judge on their ridiculous claim s calculated for
the company they were acting as a expert witness to
I don't know what forum you were told they owe you $18,000....but that would
seem logical and I don't know you should accept their first offer without
heavy consideration, on why they areplaiying hardball but paying you off? -
take what I offer now or else because we don't have -? Of course they don't
have to offer a settlement - but they are realizing that this is and will
cost them more tand that is probally why theya are willing to settle - not
to mention the optics - make it an eletion issue if there is evidence of bad
optics....
But remember you must decide what it is worth to you...$5k or more and the
wait and aggravation - I think you could win more , but in 3 years wil the
economy and inflation reduce yoru win? Ill being stronger right now better
prepare you for the future ....
Legal advice needed here.
GOOD LUCK
-----Original Message-----
From: odspfi...@googlegroups.com [mailto:odspfi...@googlegroups.com]
On Behalf Of jojo
jojo
was forced to pay on the loans I had to borrow because they wrongly
denied me benefits. I assume that is the basic break down. It offered
no breakdown even though I asked and was promised one. I want to see
how they calculated the interest.
I should look into another firm... I have to admit I was a little
stunned how Team 4 lead a lawyer in circles for a year and she was
unable to do anything about it. I assumed a lawyer would have more
under their belt than that. She didn't do anything I hadn't done
already and was basically subjected to the same tactic they used on
me.... drag me along for years then drop a bomb... repeat. They tried
to war me down but only stocked the fire.
On Aug 4, 12:44 am, Chris Carey <chrisca...@rocketmail.com> wrote:
> Jojo,
>
> Further to my previous post on this topic, does this letter offer any explanation for the figure? What is the $5700 reimbursement for? I assumed legal fees and interest, though the $5700 is almost twice the amount of your legal bills.
>
> Chris
>
> ________________________________
jojo
past more than once I they will tell you what they need to to get your
money. This is why I am here looking for advice before I go get a
lawyer. If history has proven there is no chance in hell for me to get
more or winning a human rights complaint I will not peruse this. I
just have a hard time believing this can be done to an ill human being
and they can get away with it. If they are allowed to get away with
this I will be ashamed of my country and they way it allows ODSP/OW to
stomp on people.
On Aug 4, 12:11 am, abrowne <browne200...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> JoJo,
> Never sign any paperwork without taking it to a
> lawyer first. That person will tell you if you are likely
> to get more by fighting for more, or if it is most cost
> effective to settle (and even then, maybe your lawyer
> can "up" the settlement).
> Angela
>
jojo
ODSP Team 4 were lying through their teeth I stopped the lawyer
because it became perfectly clear there was nothing the lawyer could
do to these people. I did, however, email the firm and told them
everything that has taken place with the ombudsman and asked if it was
wise for me to sign the document and that if there is more for me to
go after then I will need to hire him again. I have not heard back
from him yet but I only emailed him yesterday.
On Aug 3, 9:21 pm, Denny B. <d_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Hi
>
> You mentioned you had lawyer fees to pay - may i ask why you didn't ask this advice youre asking here, to your laywer? Frankly this would have been the most stable source of information as to sign the sheet or not. I hope you still have access to that lawyer, because that would surely be the best answer, considering they already know the details of your case. Best to you. Youre not alone btw, most people are treated with contempt by workers, seems they get burned out too fast and take it out on clients.
>
> > Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2011 17:31:42 -0700
> > Subject: [odspfireside: 38702 ] I want to sue ODSP and human rights complaint
jojo
tell me the name? I have been considering the media but the letter I
sent a few months back to the Ottawa Sun fell on deaf ears and I never
heard back from them. Maybe with this letter they sent me and the fact
that I want to file a human rights complaint will get someone to
listen.
You guys have no idea... I have left soooooo much out. I have only
written about 10% of what this woman Joanne Banville and Team 4 did to
me. She even nailed me with a $2500 over payment and was deduction
$200 a month from my already small cheque. She ignored my letters and
phone calls for months on end. I finally had to go in to ask this
woman face to face what she was doing and she had no answer for me.
She literally would not tell me why she added this $2500 over payment.
To this day I have never been told why she did that. Then she told me
to write a letter contesting the over payment so I did and handed it
in personally because I had become familiar with their disappearing
documents trick. She proceeded to ignore me again for months then when
I finally got to ask her if she had done anything she told me that I
didn't word the letter right.
All the while I am fighting cancer, my bills are going unpaid and I am
borrowing money from people to survive. I can not relay to you guys
what they have done to my emotional and mental health. They have
damaged me and I'm not sure I will over get over it. To be literally
dying in a hospital bed from Leukemia and they do all this to me. I'll
never get over the emotional abuse I don't think. Plus they have been
doing this to me for 7 years.... how am I supposed to get back to
normal after 7 years of mental torture?
Denny B.
getting back to "normal" I say this because i can tell, if you can deal with odsp as you have, for 7 years,
then surely be to god you have it in you to survive anything!
jojo
entire situation it's not something I will get over easily, but I
will. It's in my nature to be relentless in the way I have gone after
them and has nothing to do with my emotional state.
justice4odsp
In some ways you raise a valid point, but you tell me how many people out there can withstand the constant emotional beating of doing everything right, as is it is written in the rules, and then being blamed later and having to suffer the consequences for somebody else's mistake?
I say this only because I figure for us to be here having this discussion, we have not given up. We're talking about it, sharing tips, airing the pain, and doing whatever it takes to make sure we DON'T become victims and totally give up in utter defeat.
What I say to the poverty groups and others, when they tell me to stop complaining and stop being so negative is,
- You can't fix it if you don't know it's broke - in other words, tell people (the public, at this point anyone) there is a problem so the issue is known.
- Ask everyone you run into who MIGHT be able to help - if they're a taxpayer, ask them to write to their MPP and complain, speak and help share the word. We need to get the word out there because the media prefers to cover the so-called fraud.
- Here is the proof - and the pass them the ODSP, 2007 Act with the key points highlighted. If you feel there is a slight interest, show them the Human Rights Code and Charter of Rights and Freedoms. If they're still interested, show them some case law on cruel and unusual punishment where a person, who was charged with trafficing 7 gms of something, got his case cut way down because of he was able to create some really good hypothetical arguments which proved you can't paint everyone with the same brush.
justice4odsp
erekale...@gmail.com
How true – share the experience….
erekale...@gmail.com
Very well written – again required reading for any recipient
erekale...@gmail.com
post is followed and it relates to why we need to protest
-----Original Message-----
From: odspfi...@googlegroups.com [mailto:odspfi...@googlegroups.com]
On Behalf Of Gilbert
"you are not allowed to come after us for ANYTHING again"
I would not give them permission to hassle you for life without
recourse for ANY amount of money.
THAT fact on it's own, added to your experience should be cause for
huge offense.
Frank Bryan
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:20:54 -0800
From: stormwon...@gmail.com
To: odspfi...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [odspfireside: 49237 ] Re: I want to sue ODSP and human rights complaint
First of all, how are you doing now? Secondly, I am SO sorry this happened to you.
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ROBERT ALDRED
They are afraid of you. The culture you ran into does not want its privilages interfered with. That can be dangerous. You have already seen the insanity and greed that is their lives. On the other hand you must ask yourself how you feel about those people not having to pay for their unimaginable crimes. The public is your friend. People would be horrified to hear about this and they would be exposed. Another consideration is how well are you. Are you up for another fight with people who will do anything to keep their jobs and hide their hate. They seem to want to tell you that you are not allowed to go to the Workfare or ODSP system in the future for anything. That in itself is a crime. Take that to the Ombudsman. I wouldnt sign that but that is me.
On Thu 24/01/13 10:20 PM , SW stormwon...@gmail.com sent: