Ontario Trillium Foundation
Four documents: the final report of the grantee, the grant agreement, and the policies that bind the recipient.
The letter ·
Re: RE: Resilient Communities grant to Refugee Career Jumpstart Project — accessibility terms of the grant
Hello,
Your letter of 24 September 2026 rests on one sentence: the grant "was not intended to fund the delivery or oversight of direct services to participants." The page you sent as proof says the opposite.
Grant record 3265 on the Foundation's own website, DESCRIPTION field: the organization "will 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." GRANT RESULT field on the same page: "Adapt or add-new program and service delivery to meet the changing needs of the community because of COVID-19." POPULATION SERVED field: "Other racialized groups, People who are newcomers/refugees."
A Client Relations Lead is a post that exists to handle relations with clients. Service delivery is named twice by the Foundation. The population is named once, and I am in it.
Your letter then sets the test itself: "Should we identify any information that raises concerns regarding the use of OTF funding during the life of the grant, we will follow up directly with the organization as appropriate." Here is that information. On 6 December 2024 the grantee published that your grant let it "increase its accessibility by fully adapting all programming to be remote." The same release states that it "hired staff to engage 1,000+ clients through needs assessment and career readiness programming." That is the grantee's own account of how your money was spent during the life of the grant. In August 2026 the same organization wrote to me: "Without a phone number, unfortunately, we are unable to proceed with the process." A Senior Manager, Client Engagement answered my request for the policy behind it: "This is not a policy; this is a process that we have adopted since our inception in 2016."
Either the accessibility the grantee reported to the Foundation was delivered, or the Foundation was told something the money did not produce. The Foundation holds the document that settles it.
Produce the following.
1. The final report submitted by Jumpstart-Refugee Talent under grant 3265, and the Foundation's assessment of that report
2. The grant agreement for grant 3265, with every clause on accessibility, client service and non-discrimination
3. A statement of whether the Foundation's Anti-Discrimination and Accessibility policies bind the organizations it funds, and the document that says so
4. The name and title of the officer who certifies that a grant was used for its approved purposeAnswer by 8 October 2026.
Two further matters for the file. The Foundation's Customer Service Policy commits it to answer inquiries and complaints, written or verbal, within 2 business days. My letter was sent on 2 September 2026 and answered on 24 September 2026, on the 22nd day. The Foundation is an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming. Your sentence that a grantee's accessibility practices fall outside the Foundation's role is now on the record with that Ministry and with the Ombudsman of Ontario.
Your letter and the grant record are published in full, as received and as captured, at http://dzyuban.com/legal/findings/otf-accessibility-grant-oversight/
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
The letter ·
Re: RE: RE: Resilient Communities grant to Refugee Career Jumpstart Project — accessibility terms of the grant
Hello,
The Foundation's letter of 25 September 2026 states a third ground in three letters.
On 24 September the Foundation stated that grant 3265 was not intended to fund the delivery or oversight of direct services to participants. The Foundation's own grant page for 3265 records the money as funding the hiring of a Client Relations Lead and work to adapt programming and services, the grant result as "Adapt or add-new program and service delivery", and the population served as "People who are newcomers/refugees".
On 25 September the Foundation stated that its role is to oversee compliance with approved grant requirements during the grant period, and that the grant concluded in November 2024. On 24 September the Foundation had written that, should it identify any information raising concerns regarding the use of OTF funding during the life of the grant, it would follow up directly with the organization. The information placed before the Foundation is from the life of the grant: the recipient's own public report of 6 December 2024, which states that the grant money went to increase its accessibility, and the recipient's final report for that period. The Foundation wrote that it reviewed the information and has nothing to add. The Foundation's own test was met and the Foundation did not apply it.
The sentence "we do not have any additional information to provide" is not a decision under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act: no exemption is cited and no record is identified as non-existent. The Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario, it maintains a Privacy and Freedom of Information Coordinator, and its Access to Information Policy states that it provides the right of access to existing records in its custody or control.
A request under that Act went to [email] on 25 September 2026 for the four records the Foundation has declined to produce.
State by 8 October 2026 whether the Foundation holds the grant agreement for 3265 and the recipient's final report. State whether the letter of 25 September 2026 is a refusal to disclose records the Foundation holds, or a statement that the Foundation holds no such records. Name the officer who decided it.
This file sits with the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, with the members of the Standing Committee on Government Agencies, with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, and with the Ombudsman of Ontario. The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario is next.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
Ottawa, Ontario [postal code]
The answer ·
Dear Danilo Dzyuban,
My Name is Omar Omar and I am a Regional Director with the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). Thank you for contacting the OTF support centre and for sharing your concerns. We appreciate you taking the time to bring this matter to our attention.
We have reviewed the grant associated with the organization you referenced. The grant, described on OTF's website, was awarded to support organizational capacity-building activities and was not intended to fund the delivery or oversight of direct services to participants. The grant details can be found here: OTF Grant Description<https://otf.ca/grants-awarded/3265>;. The grant was completed and officially closed in November 2024.
Because the incident you described occurred after the grant had ended, and because the funded project was focused on organizational capacity rather than direct service delivery, the matter falls outside OTF's grant oversight role. OTF is a project funder. Our responsibility is to ensure that grant funds are used for their approved purposes during the grant period. We do not regulate or monitor an organization's ongoing operations, services, accessibility practices, or accommodation processes once a grant has concluded.
That said, we recognize the importance of accessibility, accommodation, and equitable treatment. OTF is committed to these principles through its Accessibility and Accommodation, Customer Service, and Anti-Discrimination policies. We take concerns of this nature seriously and have reviewed the information you provided.
If you are seeking additional information about the organization's accessibility standards, accommodation procedures, or the circumstances surrounding your experience, we encourage you to raise these concerns directly with the organization, as they are best positioned to address questions about their current policies and practices.
Thank you again for bringing this matter to our attention. We have documented your concern as part of our review. Should we identify any information that raises concerns regarding the use of OTF funding during the life of the grant, we will follow up directly with the organization as appropriate.
Sincerely,