Overview

Ontario is committed to providing safe, comfortable homes for all long-term care residents.

If you have a concern about a resident or a long-term care home, you can make your complaint to the:

The ministry will respond quickly to urgent complaints — in some cases, on the same day. However, for concerns that are not urgent, contacting the home directly is often the best and fastest way to address a problem.

Make a complaint to the long-term care home

By law, all long-term care homes in Ontario must have a formal complaints process.

Homes must post the complaints process in a place where it is easy for residents and the public to see. If you cannot find this information, speak to the home’s office staff.

If your complaint alleges harm or risk of harm to one or more residents, the home must investigate the complaint right away. They must also immediately send the complaint to the Ministry of Long-Term Care.

For all complaints, staff must let you know that the home has received your complaint within 10 business days.

They must call or write to let you know:

  • what they are doing to resolve your complaint now
  • what they plan to do to resolve your complaint in the future
  • when you can expect the complaint to be resolved

If the home believes there is no cause for complaint, they must explain why.

Contact the Ministry of Long-Term Care Family Support and Action Line

The ministry is responsible for overseeing long-term care homes’ compliance with the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021.

If you are not satisfied with the home’s response, you can contact the Ministry of Long-Term Care directly through the Long-Term Care Family Support and Action Line by phone at: 1-866-434-0144 (toll free).

The hours of operation are 8:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m., 7 days a week.

Information to include

Give as much information as you can about your concern. This will make it easier for the ministry to look into your complaint.

Please include:

  • the name of the home
  • the address of the home (including town or city)
  • a description of what happened (for example, is this an ongoing problem?)
  • for a specific event, when and where it happened (for example, outside or inside the home)
  • who was involved
  • what you would like the home to do to resolve your complaint

After you submit your complaint, one of the following actions will be taken:

  • The ministry will take steps to make sure the home is following Ontario’s regulations for long-term care homes.
  • The home may be inspected if there’s reason to believe it is breaking these rules.

If you give us your name and contact information, a member of our team may follow up with you to review the complaint.

If an inspection is required, the inspector may contact you about the report once it is completed, explaining how the matter was addressed and how the report will be made publicly available.

If you prefer not to give your name and contact information, the Long-Term Care Family Support and Action Line staff will pass your complaint to a ministry inspector for follow-up. However, the inspector will not be able to contact you later to inform you of what happened.

If you are concerned that making a report will impact you or others, the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021 provides protection for people who report concerns to the ministry. People making complaints do not have to give their name or contact information. If you do provide your name, you can ask that it be kept confidential. Information about complaints is only disclosed if the law requires or allows the ministry to disclose it. If you or someone else is treated unfairly because you complained, contact the ministry.

Send a complaint to the Ministry of Long-Term Care by mail or email

If your concern is not time sensitive, you can contact the Ministry of Long-Term Care by mail, at:

Director
Long-Term Care Inspections Branch
Long-Term Care Operations Division
Ministry of Long-Term Care
438 University Avenue, 8th floor
Toronto, ON M7A 1N3

You will receive a reply to let you know that the ministry has received your complaint. The director will pass your complaint to an inspector who will look into the matter.

You can also contact the ministry directly by sending an email to mltc.correspondence@ontario.ca or via the Contact Us page.

The Patient Ombudsman

If you have already contacted the home directly and the Long-Term Care Family Support and Action Line (toll free at 1-866-434-0144) and were not able to reach a satisfactory resolution, you can contact the Patient Ombudsman:

Learn more about the Patient Ombudsman.

Resources