Terms of Use

Please read this Terms of Use Agreement (the “Agreement”) carefully. It governs your use of this Website (the “Website”) operated by Ontario 211 Services on behalf of the various 211 Ontario Regional Service Providers (collectively “211 Ontario”). The Agreement states the terms and conditions under which you (the “User”) may access and use the Website and all written and other materials displayed or made available through the Website, including, without limitation, information on Ontario-wide human services, human services statistics and critical services such as community information centres, distress centres, hospital emergency departments and services for victims of violence and abuse, including sexual assault (the “Content”). BY ACCESSING AND/OR USING THE WEBSITE, YOU ARE INDICATING YOUR ACCEPTANCE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, YOU MUST NOT ACCESS OR USE THE WEBSITE. 211 Ontario may unilaterally revise this Agreement from time to time, in which case we will provide you with a notice of such revision by posting the amended Agreement on this Website. Use of the Website after such notice will signify your acceptance of these revised terms. You should visit this page periodically to review this Agreement.

Listing Inclusion

211 Ontario and its affiliates collect, maintain and disseminate human service information that enables people to make informed choices to improve their quality of life.

Inclusion in the database of human services listed on the Website is free and is not dependent upon the purchase of a membership, products or separate advertising space from 211 Ontario or any of its affiliates.

Subject to the priorities detailed in the next section, the database includes organizations or programs primarily located in or serving the area that:

• Provide a direct service to the public
• Are networks or coalitions of direct service providers
• Are involved in licensing, planning or coordinating direct services
• Are not-for-profit, community-based or government organizations
• Are commercial organizations that provide first priority services not offered by the nonprofit sector
• Are commercial organizations licenced by the government or with special contractual agreements to operate long term care facilities, child care centres and certain home care services

Organizations must demonstrate the ability to provide ongoing reliable services and have an established funding base or the support of an established parent organization. Exceptions may be made in emerging or underfunded service areas.

It is the policy of 211 Ontario to set first and second priorities for the listing of services on the Website. For first-priority areas, every effort is made to have comprehensive listings of all eligible services. For second-priority areas, collection depends on local data partner practices, staff resources, agreements with other agencies, and the ability of other agencies to collect and disseminate information. Rather than collect comprehensive information in second-priority areas, 211 Ontario may collect information regarding representative or umbrella groups, or refer Users to other telephone or Internet-based services.

211 Ontario gives first priority to basic subsistence and survival related services, including:

• Food, clothing and shelter
• Emergency assistance
• Crisis intervention
• Financial assistance
• Legal and correctional services
• Victim services
• Immigrant and refugee services
• Physical and mental health services
• Employment and training services
• Home support
• Public and specialized transportation
• Child care
• Access to permanent affordable housing

211 Ontario also gives first priority to services for people who may experience barriers to service because of:

• Language spoken
• Ethnocultural group
• Age, including risk factors associated with infants, children, youth or seniors
• Low income, unemployment or lack of education or literacy
• Physical, mental or developmental disabilities
• Homelessness or social isolation
• Immigration or refugee status
• Fear of violence

211 Ontario gives second priority to the following quality of life services, unless they are for people who may experience barriers to service:

• Education
• Recreation
• Consumer assistance
• Environment
• Peace and disarmament
• International development

211 Ontario reserves the right to exclude from the database any organization that it has, in its own discretion, adequate reason to believe may spread hatred or have a philosophy that could be hurtful to the well-being of individuals, groups or the community as a whole.

Potential grounds for exclusion or removal from the database may include, but is not limited to, service non-delivery, fraud, misrepresentation, discrimination, criminal activities, or operating outside licensing mandates.

211 Ontario reserves the right to refuse to list or to discontinue listings for organizations that have had serious complaints lodged against them with any regulatory body or with other organizations in the database providing similar services, or with 211 Ontario itself.

Decisions to include, exclude, or remove a service listing may be appealed by writing to 211 Ontario or its affiliates after a reasonable attempt has been made to resolve the issue with the editorial staff.

211 Ontario provides links to external Websites for some frequently sought services not listed on the Website, such as consulates and embassies.

Users unable to find the information they need are invited to call 211. Also, 211 centres are part of Ontario’s extensive network of Community Information Centres. Many of these multi-service agencies focus on specific communities or neighbourhoods and may provide comprehensive local information on service clubs, schools, sports and hobby groups, etc.

Inclusion of an organization and information about its programs and services on the Website does not imply endorsement by 211 Ontario nor does exclusion indicate lack of endorsement.

Links to other websites are provided to help users locate other Internet resources that may be of interest. Parties other than 211 Ontario independently developed these other Websites and therefore 211 Ontario does not assume responsibility for the content of any third party Website, nor does it make any representation or warranty of any kind regarding any third-party Website including, without limitation, (i) regarding the legality, accuracy, reliability, completeness, timeliness or suitability of any content on such third-party Websites, (ii) regarding the merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose of any material, content, software, goods, or services located at or made available through such third-party Websites, or (iii) that the operation of such third-party Websites will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects or errors in such third-party Websites will be corrected, or that such third-party Websites will be free from viruses or other harmful components.

In providing links to other Websites, 211 Ontario is not acting as a publisher or disseminator of the material contained on these other Websites and does not seek to control the content of, or maintain any type of editorial control over, such Websites. A link to another Website should not be construed to mean that 211 Ontario is associated with or is legally authorized to use any trademark, trade name, logo or copyrighted symbol that may be reflected in the link or the description of the link to such other Websites. In addition, the mention of another party or its products or services on the Website should not be construed as an endorsement of that party or its products or services.

The information on the Website is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical, legal or professional advice whatsoever and should not be relied upon in that respect.

THE WEBSITE AND THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED “AS IS”. WHILE 211 ONTARIO ENDEAVOURS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION THAT IS CORRECT, ACCURATE AND TIMELY, 211 ONTARIO MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE WEBSITE AND THE CONTENT INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT (I) THE CONTENT CONTAINED IN OR MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL BE FIT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, (II) THE WEBSITE OR CONTENT WILL BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, CURRENT, RELIABLE, OR TIMELY, (III) THAT THE OPERATION OF THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, (IV) THAT DEFECTS OR ERRORS IN THE WEBSITE OR THE CONTENT, BE IT HUMAN OR COMPUTER ERRORS, WILL BE CORRECTED, (V) THAT THE WEBSITE WILL BE FREE FROM VIRUSES OR HARMFUL COMPONENTS, AND (VI) THAT COMMUNICATIONS TO OR FROM THE WEBSITE WILL BE SECURE AND/OR NOT INTERCEPTED.

Listing Updates

Most organizations listed on the Website are asked annually to complete a written questionnaire or to update their information by telephone, fax or e-mail. In addition, the editorial team monitors service changes, and major changes are made as soon as the information is known and verified with the service provider. Nevertheless, community services change so rapidly that some omissions and inaccuracies are inevitable.

211 Ontario encourages organizations to use the Website to notify the editorial team of service changes throughout the year by using the update information option found on all records on the Website. 211 Ontario reserves the right to verify each change with the service provider.

The amount of detail, the language used and the presentation of information in describing a service or organization is at the discretion of 211 Ontario.

Changes submitted will not appear automatically or immediately on the Website. Changes are first verified and processed by staff, with the data on this Website typically updated once a week.

Linking

211 Ontario encourages organizations to use the Website as a central collection of quality information. If you would like to link to the Website, we request that you:

• Inform us that you are creating a link by sending a message to gethelp@211ontario.ca. Please indicate the URL of the page where the link will be placed.
• Link to the Website home page instead of specific pages within the Website.

While 211 Ontario encourages links to the Website, it does not wish to be linked to or from any third-party Website which contains, posts or transmits any unlawful information of any kind, including, without limitation, any content i) that constitutes or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offence, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any local, state, provincial, national or international law or regulation; ii) that may be damaging or detrimental to the activities, operations, credibility or integrity of 211 Ontario; or iii) that contains, posts or transmits any information, software or other material which violates or infringes upon the rights of others, including material which is an invasion of privacy or publicity rights, or which is protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights.

211 Ontario reserves the right to prohibit or refuse to accept any link to the Website, including, without limitation, any link which contains or makes available any content or information of the foregoing nature, at any time. You agree to remove any link you may have to the Website upon the request of 211 Ontario.

The framing, mirroring and deeplinking of the Website or any of its Content in any form and by any method is strictly prohibited. You may not cause any advertisement including any pop-up or banner advertisement to appear at, or on, or after exiting, the Website.

Complaints

Background
Ontario 211 Services is committed to the highest standards of conduct, and acknowledges the right of the public to provide feedback when dissatisfied with a service. Ontario 211 Services further believes that by encouraging this important feedback, there is an opportunity to learn and improve for the future.

Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to provide a fair and transparent complaints procedure, which is clear and easy to use for anyone wishing to make a complaint.

Policy

• To provide a fair method of receiving and responding to external complaints.
• To publicize the existence of our complaints procedure, so that the public knows how to contact 211 to make a complaint.
• To ensure all complaints are investigated fairly and in a timely, fair, respectable and accountable manner.
• To ensure that complaints are, whenever possible, resolved and relationships are repaired.
• To gather data and information regarding complaints, which will act as a foundation for continuous improvement.

Process for Raising a Concern

If you believe you did not receive the service you expected, you are encouraged to contact Ontario 211 Services. Your complaint will be acknowledged within two (2) business days, and we will respond and work to resolve to your complaint within five (5) business days.

You can contact us by:

Telephone: Dial 2-1-1
Complaints received by telephone will immediately be documented. For your complaint to be considered valid, you must provide your name and the date the incident took place. You will be connected to the supervisor or manager at the contact centre, who will address your concerns within five (5) business days.

Email: gethelp@211ontario.ca
Complaints received by email will immediately be documented. For your complaint to be considered valid, you must include your name and the date the incident took place in your email and a brief description of the complaint. Your complaint will be forwarded to the supervisor or manager at the contact centre, who will address your concerns within five (5) business days.

In writing:
One St. Clair Ave. West
10th Floor, Suite 1000
Toronto, ON   M4V 1K6

Complaints received in writing will immediately be documented. For your complaint to be considered valid, you must include your name, the date the incident took place and a brief description of the complaint in your correspondence. Your complaint will be forwarded to the supervisor or manager at the Contact Centre, who will address your concerns within five (5) business days.

Escalation of Complaints
Should you feel that your complaint has not been satisfactorily resolved, the Executive Director of Ontario 211 Services will be notified. At this stage, the Executive Director will investigate the case, or delegate senior personnel to do so. Your complaint will be acknowledged within five (5) business days, and 211 will work to resolve the issue within ten (10) business days.

Confidentiality
Ontario 211 Services ensures that all complaint information will be handled in a timely, sensitive and confidential manner, and the organization will follow any relevant data protection requirements.

Continuous Improvement
Ontario 211 Services is committed to addressing concerns about its service, and the data gathered will act as a foundation for continuous improvement.

Privacy Policy