The PUSH for MUSH
HOW DOES ONTARIO MEASURE UP?
The Ombudsman's authority, as established by the Ombudsman Act to oversee the delivery of public services, has not been modernized in over 30 years. Ontario has fallen behind in oversight of non-governmental organizations providing critical public services referred to as the “MUSH” sector - municipalities (except for the ability to investigate complaints about closed meetings in some cases), universities, school boards, hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities, police, and children’s aid societies. The Ombudsman of Ontario's authority with respect to this sector is the most limited in Canada.
How the mandate of Ontario’s Ombudsman compares to other Canadian Ombudsman in key public service areas:
| Provinces | Boards of Education | Child Protection Services | Public Hospitals | Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Facilities | Municipalities | Police Complaints Review Mechanism | Univer sities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | No |
No |
No |
No |
No1 |
No |
No |
| Alberta |
No |
Yes |
Yes2 | Yes3 | No |
Yes | No |
| British Columbia |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes4 |
No | Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Manitoba |
No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Yes5 |
No |
| New Brunswick | Yes | Yes6 | Yes7 | No | Yes | Yes8 | No |
|
Newfoundland and Labrador |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Nova Scotia |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Quebec |
No | Yes9 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Saskatchewan |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes | No |
| Yukon |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
By reference10 |
No11 |
No |
Amended: April 30, 2010
- In Ontario, the Ombudsman has jurisdiction to investigate complaints about some municipal closed meetings.
- In Alberta, the Ombudsman has jurisdiction to investigate complaints about the patient concerns resolution processes of hospitals.
- In Alberta, the Ombudsman has jurisdiction to investigate complaints about the patient concerns resolution processes of long-term care facilities and nursing homes.
- In British Columbia, the Ombudsman also has jurisdiction over regional health boards and regional hospital districts.
- In Manitoba, the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction over police, which are municipal, flows from his jurisdiction over municipalities. The Ombudsman also has jurisdiction over the Law Enforcement Review Agency (LERA), which is part of the Justice Department.
- In New Brunswick, the Ombudsman is prevented from investigating a matter that is or has been investigated or reviewed by the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate. Currently, the New Brunswick Ombudsman is also the Child and Youth Advocate.
- In New Brunswick, the Ombudsman has jurisdiction over Regional Health Authorities, which operate, own and dispense all services for hospitals.
- In New Brunswick, the Ombudsman has jurisdiction over the New Brunswick Police Commission. The Commission is not included in the Schedule to the Ombudsman Act, but the Ombudsman has a working agreement with the Commission allowing them to review Commission files.
- In Quebec, the Protecteur du citoyen has some jurisdiction over administrative procedural matters relating to child protection services provided by the directors of youth protection.
- A municipality or Yukon First Nation government may at any time refer a matter to the Ombudsman for investigation and report.
- The only police force operating in the Yukon is the RCMP, a federal body.