Compliance orders, written notifications, and fines explained

The findings you will see

Remedied during inspection

The least serious outcome: the inspector found a problem but the home fixed it before the inspection ended, so no enforcement action was issued. These count toward a home’s total findings, but not toward its compliance-order or fine counts.

Written notification

The Ministry’s lesser non-compliance finding. It flags an issue the home needs to address but does not set a deadline to fix it.

Compliance order

The Ministry’s most serious finding short of a fine. It requires the home to fix something by a specific deadline, and inspectors can return to check the order was met.

Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP)

A fine for serious or repeated non-compliance. On our pages, fines are shown per licensed bed so homes of different sizes can be compared fairly.

How findings escalate

The actions form a ladder. A first or minor issue may draw a written notification. Something more serious, or a problem a home has not corrected, can move up to a compliance order and, for the most serious or repeated cases, a fine. Beyond these, the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021 gives the Ministry further powers for the most serious situations, such as charging a re-inspection fee, appointing a supervisor to run the home, or acting on its licence. See how Ontario inspects homes for where these findings come from.

How the counts on our pages add up

• Findings means compliance orders, written notifications, and items remedied on site, combined.
• A remedied item counts as a finding but carries no compliance order or fine, because the home fixed the issue before the inspection ended.
• Fines are shown separately, per licensed bed.
• Each figure is shown beside the Ontario average for the same period, so a number can be read in context rather than on its own.

A count is context, not a verdict. We do not assign scores or star ratings, we do not rank homes, and we do not publish best or worst lists.