Hardip contacted us with a complaint about the Ministry of Children and Family Development. She and her daughter lived in subsidized housing run by a non-profit housing society and the subsidy was based on her being a single parent with one child living with her. She explained that her three year-old daughter had been removed from her care by the ministry and that she and the ministry were working toward a gradual return of her daughter to her care.
While Hardip was working with the ministry to have her daughter returned to her care, she received an eviction notice because her daughter was not residing with her. The manager asked her to provide a letter from ministry staff confirming the ministry was in the process of returning her daughter in order to keep her apartment.
Hardip talked to her social worker who agreed to send a letter to the housing society in order to satisfy her building manager’s request. However, she said a number of weeks passed and nothing had been sent to the society. Hardip told us she followed up with ministry staff at her local office and asked for an update, but no one got back to her. She wasn’t sure what to do and was very concerned about losing her housing.
Our Office investigated whether the ministry followed a reasonable process for responding to Hardip’s request that it provide a letter to the housing society. We confirmed with a team leader that Hardip had asked the ministry to provide the housing society with a letter to confirm her daughter would be transitioned back to her care however, the letter was not due to be sent until the last week of the month and it was not clear whether the housing society would receive it in time. We asked whether there was anything further the ministry could do to ensure that the housing society received the required information prior to the end of the month so that the eviction would not be acted on.
The ministry agreed that the letter should be mailed out immediately and indicated that staff would contact Hardip’s building manager to confirm that the letter was on its way.