Complaints to Ombudsman up by almost 30%: Annual report 2011-2012

Ontario Ombudsman André Marin is calling on the government of Ontario to protect the public interest in tough economic times by ensuring citizens have the opportunity to complain to his office – as more than 18,500 of them did in 2011-2012 (up 27% from the previous year).

"Ontario’s watchdog is sniffing out more problems than ever before — but needs more teeth to properly guard the public."
- Toronto Star

Read the full report
Watch the new Annual Report summary video
Press release
Ombudsman's opening remarks
Complaints by riding

As the province grapples with the deficit and looks for ways to reduce costs, the Ombudsman can help ensure accountability and fairness in public services, as long as those services fall within his mandate, the Ombudsman says in his latest Annual Report, released on June 19.

“While Ontarians understand the need for belt-tightening, it is crucial that efficiencies and savings are not achieved at the expense of fairness and good public administration,” Mr. Marin writes in the report.  “The issue is not privatization, but the spectre of these services – without proper legislative safeguards – being removed from Ombudsman scrutiny, leaving Ontarians no recourse to complain about them or have them independently investigated.”

The Ombudsman urges the government to ensure that any public services that are privatized or otherwise delegated remain subject to Ombudsman oversight.  MPPs should heed the lessons learned from the scandal-plagued air ambulance service Ornge, he says.  “Who knows? If we’d had the ability to investigate allegations about Ornge received from patients and their families, industry insiders and whistleblowers, we might have been able to prompt the government into taking action.  This is exactly the kind of proactive work we have done with many ministries and organizations.”