It may be a novelty, but some Ontarians have not been too happy about the new online cannabis store.
The provincial ombudsman's office released its annual report Tuesday, and by far, the biggest complaint they took was about the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS). For the fiscal year 2018-2019, the ombudsman's office took a whopping 2,411 complaints about the OCS.
That issue was among many that were handled by the office, which said that the total number of complaints they received was 27,419, a 30 per cent increase over the previous fiscal year.
According to the report, the complaints about pot began coming in a week after cannabis became legal in Canada, with consumers saying they had placed orders at the OCS and had yet to receive them. Within three weeks, inquiries about delivery delays, access to the system, and poor customer service began pouring in. At that point, ombudsman Paul Dube said they had to put a dedicated crew in place to resolve problems with the OCS.
Two specific cases mentioned by the office involved delivery problems. In one case, a woman who made a purchase on the day cannabis became legal said that when she came home two weeks later, the package was just left on her doorstep, in clear violation of the regulation that someone 19 or older must sign for the delivery. The OCS has since reviewed the policy with Canada Post to ensure deliveries like that were handled correctly.
The other case involved a consumer who received an empty box from the OCS, who told him that he could place another order at no charge, but would have to send the box back with a shipping label attached. His order was expedited after contacting the ombudsman.
Complaints about changes to the Ontario Autism Program were the second highest recorded during the year, with 575 cases taken. Most of them came after the Ontario government announced changes to the program this winter. Dube's office also handled 115 complaints about integrity commissioners, which are now mandatory in all municipalities.
The complete report is available online, along with a summary of its main points.