Ontario One Call, Members (Utility Companies and Municipalities) and Excavators must operate according to the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act. You can review it here. As per our Act, the following Compliance Offenses are within Ontario One Call’s jurisdiction (for a complete list and explanation of Compliance Offenses, please click here):
If you have reasonable or probable cause to believe there has been non-compliance with our Act, its regulations or the By-laws of Ontario One Call, you can submit a complaint. If the complaint is verified, Ontario One Call will notify the non-compliant party to request action to resolve the problem. Ontario One Call cannot guarantee a timeframe by which the non-compliant party will resolve the issue.
Please note that Ontario One Call’s Compliance Department only accepts complaints in writing and aims to review them within 15 business days.
How the complaint process works:
Before submitting a complaint, please review the menu below for answers to the most common issues.
Ontario One Call is a notification system and does NOT provide, contract, or manage locates. The local utility companies listed on your locate request (gas, electricity, telecom) are legally bound to provide locates for the infrastructure they own within the legislated timeframe. If they do not, please contact the Member or the Members designate first. If you have not achieved results, you have 2 options:
By law, Utility Companies have 5 business days to send their Locate Service Provider to provide the locate with paperwork or provide a clearance. This is why we ask homeowners and excavators to request a locate at least 5 business days before the start of their project. While the law mandates these deadlines, there is no guarantee a locate will be provided in 5 business days. Please check out our Act here.
Our Compliance Department will review your complaint and get back to you as quickly as they can. Your complaint will need to be verified by the Compliance Department to ensure it is a valid complaint and within the jurisdiction of Ontario One Call. The Compliance Department may reach out to you during the verification process. After the complaint details are verified, the complaint will be sent directly to the allegedly non-compliant party. The non-compliant party is to take immediate action to resolve the situation. If you have not heard back from them in 5 business days, please reach out to our Compliance Dept. again for further action.
You can find this information within the locate status once you log into the web portal. This how-to-video shows how to find your locate request and the locate status – https://youtu.be/Yv5SpFgoL50
Once the complaint is verified, our Compliance Team will notify the Member and ask them to correct the information on the locates. If you’re losing money due to late locates, you have the right to receive financial compensation (Excavator Recourse) for losses and expenses. To find out more details on how to receive financial compensation from Utilities that have not provided locates within the legislated timeframe follow this link: https://www.ontarioonecall.ca/wp…/uploads/OLT_Process.pdf
Locate flags are placed in areas where an excavation has been proposed. Utility owners will mark out the location of their buried infrastructure using paint or flags to ensure safe excavation. Locate flags and markings use a universal colour code. You can review it here
The markings should be left in place and not removed until the project is complete – this is typically done by the contractors performing the work.
Please do NOT submit a complaint if you see paint marks or flags on your lawn as Ontario One Call cannot remove them. The Member or the Contractor (the person performing the work) are the ones authorized to remove them.
You have 5 calendar days to solve the problem and let the Ontario One Call’s Compliance Dept. know by email and via 360 Feedback by marking the locate cleared or completed.
Please contact your Member Services Representative.
This form is to be completed by anyone who wants to make a complaint against a member (buried infrastructure owner), excavator, or Ontario One Call, if they have reasonable or probable cause to believe there has been non-compliance with the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012, its regulations or the By-laws of Ontario One Call.
If the complaint is about a Member, for example a Late Locate, please contact the Member or the Members designate first. If you have not achieved results, please continue to fill out and submit the complaint form.
To see the locate delivery performance reports, please click on the following link: