The interns visited the Ombudsman and discussed the function of the Ombudsman as an independent office of the Legislature which resolves complaints about government and public sector bodies. We had the great opportunity to meet with Paul Dubé (the Ombudsman), Carl Bouchard (the French Language Services Commissioner) and Barbara Finlay (the Deputy Ombudsman)!
We learnt that the office of the Ombudsman receives about 125,000 complaints each year and the office chooses about 4 to 6 cases of which they conduct an in-depth investigation. Most complaints are resolved though communication with the relevant ministry or department. We discussed the process of conducting the recent systemic investigations: the LTB board in May 2023 and the LTC homes in September 2023. The Ombudsman makes systemic recommendations and uses compelling stories to get the public/media informed, these highlight the human impact of their recommendations.
We particularly enjoyed the discussion about their outreach to vulnerable communities and how the office strives to keep the public informed. The Office of the Ombudsman is very active on X (formerly Twitter) with over 40,000 followers and strives to be an “agent of positive change.” We also very much appreciated the insights by Carl Bouchard into the state of French language services in Ontario and the unique challenges with serving that subset of the Ontario population.
A big thank you to Paul Dubé, Carl Bouchard, and Barbara Finlay for inviting us to the office and sharing with us about the role of the Ombudsman!
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