Tell us about your experience with us, our processes, decisions, services and staff. We use your feedback to monitor and improve our services for the benefit of all residents.

We try to resolve all complaints but cannot guarantee everyone will be satisfied with the resolution.

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On this page:

  1. Share your feedback
  2. What is a complaint?
  3. Complaints process
  4. Resolution

Share your feedback

If you have feedback regarding a city service, policy, program or staff member, there are several ways that you can provide that information to the division or office responsible for that service:

General complaints

Contact us at any time to make a general complaint:

Complaints about specific services or city facilities

If your complaint is about a specific service area or city facility, find the right phone number or link to email in our staff directory. On each page of our website, contact information is available in the right menu (on desktop) or at the bottom of the page (on mobile or tablet).

Help from the office of the mayor and council

If you’re looking for help from your ward councillor or the mayor, call 519-741-2300 or find direct contact information on our website.

Not sure who your councillor is? Use our online tool to find your councillor.

Ontario Ombudsman’s Office complaints

If you have completed the internal process with city staff and are unsatisfied with the resolution, please contact the Ontario Ombudsman’s Office at 1-800-263-1830 or file a complaint online.

What is a complaint?

We consider a complaint to be an expression of dissatisfaction related to a City of Kitchener program, service or staff member where you believe we have not provided a service experience to your satisfaction at the point of service delivery. There is also an expectation of a response or resolution.

Complaint process

After you submit your complaint, you can expect an acknowledgement that we’ve received your complaint within two business days. If it’s not possible to resolve your complaint immediately, staff will share your complaint with their management for further investigation. If we need more information to resolve your complaint, we may contact you. We will keep you informed and updated if an investigation takes longer than expected.

We try to resolve all complaints. However, we can’t guarantee that all complainants will be satisfied with the resolution.

Throughout this process, we expect that staff and customers will treat each other fairly, with dignity and respect. We also commit to:

  • provide professional, prompt and polite service
  • acknowledge and resolve all complaints in a timely manner
  • fair and respectful follow-up and investigations
  • provide a clear rationale for all decisions
  • explain your options if you are dissatisfied with how your complaint was handled
  • deal with complaints in a confidential manner, according to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

Resolution

We will share the outcome of your complaint with you as soon as possible. If you make a complaint, you should expect to get at least an initial response within 10 days of us receiving your initial communication. As much as possible (depending on the complexity of the issue), we will provide a final response or resolution within 20 business days.

Staff will be open and accountable when reporting back on complaints. Exceptions include but are not limited to:

  • if information is protected by MFIPPA or PIHPA regulations or if the release of information would unfairly invade someone’s privacy or defame an individual
  • if the information is related to staff disciplinary action, the complainant will be informed that the matter is being investigated or has been resolved, but details cannot be provided
  • if the complainant has indicated that they do not want to be contacted further

We consider a complaint to be closed when either:

  • the complainant accepts the resolution
  • we conduct a full internal review and share with the complainant:
    • feedback about the action or lack of action taken and why
    • that the matter is now considered closed