Most provinces of Canada have independent Provincial Ombudspersons who are Officers of the Provincial legislature. Enquiries and complaints of practices, services and unfair treatment by government organisations and public agencies may be made to the Ombudsperson. Complaints may relate to benefits provided by government agencies, schools and hospitals.

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Most provinces of Canada have independent Provincial Ombudspersons who are Officers of the Provincial legislature. Enquiries and complaints of practices, services and unfair treatment by government organisations and public agencies may be made to the Ombudsperson. Complaints may relate to benefits provided by government agencies, schools and hospitals. Most Ombudspersons powers will be set out in Provincial legislation and may include a list of authorities against whose decisions complaints may be made. The Ombudsperson investigates the complaint and attempts to resolve it, usually by means of recommendations. Recommendations may include a requirement that the government agency reviews its actions; change it policies or procedures or improve it’s communication with public and other government bodies. The recommendations may be detailed within a report provided to the complainant and the government agency. If the recommendations are not acted on the Ombudsperson may report the action to the Legislature. Ombudspersons may also review government practices to assess the level of administrative fairness.

Analysis provided by: Anisa Niaz LLM (Public Law), United Kingdom.

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