Stuck with a business that will not fix the problem? Canada's escalation ladders explained: CCTS for telecom, OBSI for banking, the CTA for air travel.
Applies in: across Canada
Complain to the business in writing first, then escalate to the body that covers that sector. Telecom and TV go to the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS). Banking and investments go to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI). Air travel goes to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). Most other retail and service complaints go to your province or territory's consumer protection office. Each body has its own form, deadlines, and limits.
This is general process information, not legal advice. Nothing here promises an outcome.
Every escalation ladder in Canada starts the same way: you give the business a chance to fix it, and you do it in writing — an email, a message through the company's complaint form, or a letter. A phone call can start a complaint, but only a written record proves what was said and when.
Keep your written complaint short and specific: what happened, on what dates, what the contract or booking said, and what you want fixed. Keep a copy of everything both sides send. When you later file, the first thing each body wants to see is that paper trail — your complaint, the firm's reply, and the dates on both.
If the company offers a fix you can live with, take it and keep the written confirmation.
Picking the right body matters more than writing a long complaint. A complaint filed with the wrong body gets bounced, while the clock on the right body's deadline keeps running.
If you are unsure whether a firm participates, check the body's own list of participating firms before you file.
File with the CCTS once your telecom or TV problem is still unresolved after giving the provider a chance to fix it. Use the online complaint form, which prompts you for the details it needs. Fax, mail, or phone filing also exists — the CCTS lists its phone line as 1-888-221-1687 — but the online form is fastest.
Once accepted, the CCTS checks whether the complaint falls within its mandate. If it does, the complaint goes to initial referral: the CCTS sends it to your provider, which gets 20 calendar days to resolve it with you directly. If that fails, the CCTS works with both sides to try to settle it, and if settlement fails, it assesses whether the provider reasonably performed its obligations under your contract and any relevant codes of conduct. Fixes it can require include correcting a billing error, reconnecting a service, or stopping collections activity.
What to file: your account details, the provider's name, the dates the problem occurred and came to your attention, the steps you took with the provider and its reply, and what you would regard as a reasonable resolution.
OBSI only takes your complaint after the firm has had its window or given you a final response. The windows are fixed: 56 days for a bank or federal credit union, 90 days for an investment firm or provincial credit union, and 60 days for a Quebec resident, with exceptional circumstances allowing an extension to 90 days. Once you have the firm's final written response, you have 180 calendar days to bring the complaint to OBSI. Miss that 180-day window and OBSI treats the complaint as out of mandate.
OBSI also will not investigate if you have started legal action on the same matter, already reached a settlement, named a firm that is not a participating member, or did not raise the complaint with the firm within six years of when you knew or should have known about the issue.
Once OBSI opens a file, it gathers documents from both sides, gets your signed consent for information sharing, and assigns an investigator once it has what it needs. OBSI says it aims to complete banking investigations within 90 calendar days and investment investigations within 120 calendar days, and completes most well in advance of those targets. If the firm acted unfairly or made an error that cost you money, OBSI recommends the firm restore your financial position, plus limited compensation for non-financial losses such as extraordinary distress or inconvenience. Recommendations are capped at $350,000, and OBSI does not recommend punishment or fines — that is the role of regulators.
What to file: your dated written complaint to the firm, its final response if you have one, statements or documents showing the loss or error, and proof of when you first complained.
CTA complaints differ, and the timeline trips people up. You submit through the CTA's online air travel complaint form, with all information and documents attached at the time you file — you cannot add documents later to complete the complaint. Gather first: proof you contacted the airline in writing (your complaint and its response, unless it did not respond within 30 days), your ticket or booking confirmation, your booking reference, the full itinerary, and receipts for out-of-pocket expenses. Documents must be in English or French, and the CTA does not accept paper copies.
After you file, your complaint waits in a queue; the CTA warns high volumes mean a wait before the process starts. The 90-day decision period starts not when you file but when the CTA issues its Start Notice, day 0. From there, the airline answers and you reply, eligibility is reviewed, mediation may begin at any point, and the final decision lands by day 90. Your form must also state the outcome you want for each issue.
What to file: everything listed above, plus whether you agree or disagree with the airline's reason for the incident and why.
If no sector body covers your complaint — a retailer, a contractor, a purchase that never arrived — your province or territory's consumer protection office is the route. Each province and territory runs its own office with its own forms and deadlines, so this guide states no single deadline for this route: use the office where the issue arose and file with the same written record you built in step 0.
| Province | Office | Contact confirmed October 24, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | Consumer Protection Ontario, Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement | File online, or by mail or email to PO Box 450, Toronto, ON M7A 2J6, consumer@ontario.ca. Phones: 1-800-889-9768 and 416-326-8800. Contact within 15 business days. |
| British Columbia | Consumer Protection BC, the provincial regulator | consumerprotectionbc.ca |
| Alberta | Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, Consumer Investigations Unit | Report a Rip-off line for anonymous tips: 1-877-427-4088 toll-free in Alberta, 780-427-4088. Formal complaints are filed separately, and anonymous complaints are not accepted for formal complaints. |
Whatever body you end up with, the file is the same shape. Put it together once and reuse it:
File online where possible, keep copies and any reference number, and send further documents promptly.
If a deadline is close, file with the right body, not the wrong one.
Related guides: how to lower your internet bill in Canada, how to start building credit in Canada.
Yes, in practice for all three sector bodies. The CCTS takes complaints that are still unresolved after you gave the provider a chance to fix them. OBSI will only look at your complaint once the firm has had its window or given you a final response. The CTA requires proof you contacted the airline in writing. Complain in writing, keep a copy, and note the date you sent it.
Nothing. Both the CCTS and OBSI state that their services are free to consumers. The CCTS covers telecom and TV complaints, and OBSI covers banking services and investment firms that participate in its service. If a firm or a website asks you to pay to file with either body, stop and check that you are on the real site.
You have 180 calendar days from the date you received the firm's final written response. Before that clock starts, the firm gets its own window: 56 days for a bank or federal credit union, 90 days for an investment firm or provincial credit union, and 60 days for a Quebec resident, with exceptional circumstances allowing an extension to 90 days. Miss the 180 days and OBSI lists the complaint as out of mandate.
The decision period is 90 days, but it starts when the CTA issues its Start Notice, not when you submit your form. Your complaint sits in a queue first, and the CTA warns that high volumes mean a wait before the process starts. Once the Start Notice arrives, the airline answers, you reply, eligibility is reviewed, mediation may follow, and the final decision lands by day 90.
Go to your province or territory's consumer protection office. Those offices handle the general run of retail and service complaints that no sector body covers. The process, forms, and deadlines differ by province and territory, so use the office for the province or territory where the issue arose and follow its own filing instructions rather than borrowing another province's rules.
Not in the way a court order works. The CCTS can tell a provider how to fix the problem, for example by correcting a billing error, reconnecting a service, or stopping collections activity. OBSI makes recommendations, and its recommendations are capped at $350,000; it states plainly that it cannot order a firm to follow a recommendation, though firms usually accept them. If you want a binding order, that is what the courts are for, and this guide is general process information, not legal advice.