Authority

Complaints

The Ombudsman Act authorizes the Ombudsman to investigate any complaint made by a person who believes an authority aggrieved them in their personal capacity as a result of a decision, recommendation, act done or omitted, or procedure used by the authority.

The Ombudsman has broad investigation powers to investigate complaints made under the Ombudsman Act but does not have any adjudicative powers. There is no right of appeal if an authority decides not to follow the Ombudsman’s recommendations. However, the Ombudsman has authority to submit a report to the Commissioner in Executive Council and then to the Legislative Assembly if no action has been taken within a reasonable period of time after making a recommendation and to inform complainants of the recommendation(s) not acted upon. 

Authority to Settle

The Ombudsman Act authorizes the Ombudsman to try and settle a complaint.

Procedures

The Ombudsman has developed the following procedures to more effectively manage complaints.

Informal Case Resolution

All written complaints received under the Ombudsman Act will be managed through Informal Case Resolution (ICR) unless a decision is made to escalate to a Formal Investigation (see Formal Investigation below).

ICR procedures for complaint management:

1. Contact – an investigator from the ICR team contacts the pre-designated contact for the authority
2. ICR - the investigator and the contact (or designate) enter into discussions about the complaint in an attempt to reach a settlement
3. Settlement - if settlement is reached, the Investigator sets out the terms in a letter and provides it to the parties with a request to confirm agreement. If agreed to, the investigator sends a letter to the authority and the complainant confirming agreement
4. Follow-up - the investigator follows up as necessary to ensure settlement terms are met
5. Non-settlement - if settlement does not occur, the investigator forwards the file to the Deputy Ombudsman and Ombudsman to decide if investigation is necessary
6. Publication - statistics about ICRs will be published in the annual reports and examples may be cited

Our goal is to resolve complaints in the Informal Case Resolution Process within 90 days from receipt of a complaint.

Formal Investigation

A written complaint received under the Ombudsman Act may proceed directly to Formal Investigation where it is determined that investigation of the complaint is necessary in order to properly address the complaint.Factors that may be considered in making this determination are:

• serious or complex - a complaint does not lend itself to early resolution due to the seriousness of the complaint or the complexity, such as a systemic complaint involving multiple complainants
• resolution unsuccessful - the complaint could not be resolved through Informal Case Resolution in a timely manner or at all

The procedure for managing an investigation of a complaint are:

1. Contact – opening correspondence is sent to the authority to notify them about the investigation and request a contact for the investigation
2. Investigation – an Investigator from the Formal Investigation team gathers relevant evidence, analyzes the evidence, and draws conclusions about whether there is unfairness under the Ombudsman Act

3. Report – a preliminary investigation report is prepared

   a. Representations - the authority is provided with the preliminary investigation report to verify facts, consider the recommendations, and provide comments in relation to the preliminary report for consideration by the Ombudsman
   b. Finalization – after reviewing the response received from the authority, the Ombudsman finalizes the report and recommendations and sends the report to the authority. The Ombudsman requests that the authority provide its decision by a specified date about whether it will accept the recommendations and agrees to the timelines to complete any recommendations
   c. Correspondence - the complainant is sent a copy of the investigation report and the response to any recommendations made

4. Recommendations acceptance – If the Authority accepts the recommendations, the Ombudsman follows up to ensure the Authority has given effect to the recommendations by the due date agreed upon by the Ombudsman and Authority. If work to implement any recommendations requires additional time, the Authority must request a time extension from the Ombudsman and explain the reasons why it requires additional time beyond what was originally agreed upon.
5. Recommendations non-acceptance – If the Authority does not accept the recommendations of the Ombudsman the Ombudsman may submit a report to the Commissioner in Executive Council and then to the Legislative Assembly. The complainant is sent the investigation report that notes that the Authority has rejected the recommendations of the Ombudsman.
6. Failure to implement recommendations - If the Authority does not take adequate or appropriate action within a reasonable time after receipt of the report in respect of a recommendation, the Ombudsman may submit a report to the Commissioner in Executive Council and then to the Legislative Assembly. The complainant is sent a letter informing them that no action or insufficient action has been taken by the Authority in respect of any recommendations made as part of the Investigation Report.
7. Publication – the Formal Investigation report may be published on our website and may be tabled in the Legislative Assembly. A summary of the investigation will appear in our annual report.

Our goal is to complete an investigation within 12 months from receipt of a complaint.