Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Standing Committee on Government Agencies

The letter · 25 September 2026

Ontario Trillium Foundation - select it for review under Standing Order 110(f)

Hello,

This goes to the Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Agencies. On 24 September 2026 I wrote to the Committee at [email]. On 25 September 2026 the Committee's Procedural Services Assistant answered that "the Committee is not accepting written submissions" and that the record may go to the members directly. It now goes to each member.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming. Its board members are approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. The Foundation gave 194,700 dollars of provincial money to Jumpstart-Refugee Talent under the Resilient Communities Fund, grant 3265. The Foundation's own grant record says the money paid the organization to "recover and build its resiliency from impacts of COVID-19 by hiring a Client Relations Lead and providing resources and technology for staff to adapt programming and services to meet the needs of community." The population served, as published by the Foundation: "People who are newcomers/refugees."

On 6 December 2024 the grantee published that the grant let it "increase its accessibility by fully adapting all programming to be remote" and that it "hired staff to engage 1,000+ clients through needs assessment and career readiness programming."

I am a refugee claimant in Ottawa. On 18 August 2026 I wrote to that organization and said in my first message that I communicate in writing and do not take calls. They registered me, telephoned anyway, and on 26 August 2026 refused: "Without a phone number, unfortunately, we are unable to proceed with the process." Asked for the written policy behind that requirement, a Senior Manager, Client Engagement answered: "This is not a policy; this is a process that we have adopted since our inception in 2016."

On 2 September 2026 I put four questions to the Foundation about the terms of that grant agreement. The answer came on 24 September 2026, on the 22nd day, against the Foundation's own published standard of 2 business days. A Regional Director wrote that the grant "was not intended to fund the delivery or oversight of direct services to participants," that the matter "falls outside OTF's grant oversight role," and that the Foundation does "not regulate or monitor an organization's ongoing operations, services, accessibility practices, or accommodation processes once a grant has concluded." He attached a link to the grant record quoted above, which names a Client Relations Lead and names service delivery twice.

Standing Order 110(f) gives the Committee the power to review and report to the House on "the operation of all agencies, boards and commissions to which the Lieutenant Governor in Council makes some or all of the appointments." The Standing Order names the purpose: "improving the accountability of agencies." The Committee's page for this Parliament lists no agenda, no hearing, no report and no matter referred other than bills.

Convene the Sub-committee on Committee Business and put on its agenda the selection of the Ontario Trillium Foundation for review under Standing Order 110(f), with three questions to the Foundation in public session. Does any grant agreement of the Foundation bind a recipient to serve the population the grant names. What does the Foundation do when a recipient reports an outcome to the Foundation and the public that its practice does not match. Which officer of the Foundation certifies that a grant was used for its approved purpose.

Confirm by 15 October 2026 whether the Sub-committee will take it up. By that date the same record goes to the Auditor General of Ontario.

The full record, with the Foundation's letter reproduced as received and the grant record captured field by field, is published at http://dzyuban.com/legal/findings/otf-accessibility-grant-oversight/

Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban