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16/02/2010 - Quebec ombudsman recommends creation of special investigations unit

The Quebec Ombudsman, Raymonde Saint-Germain, today recommended that her province create an independent, civilian-led special investigations unit to investigate serious incidents involving police. The new unit will be modelled in part on Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the only such body in Canada to date. Ms. Saint-Germain’s report includes several references to Ontario Ombudsman André Marin’s 2008 investigation into the SIU, which recommended it be tougher and more transparent.
View the Quebec Ombudsman’s report here.
View the Ontario Ombudsman’s 2008 report and related materials here.

Latest News

29/11/2009 - Ontario uncaps Avastin funding in wake of Ombudsman probe

Ontario Ombudsman André Marin today welcomed the province’s announcement that it will uncap the funding of Avastin for colorectal cancer patients. Mr. Marin recommended that the “absurd and indefensible” cap be lifted two months ago in his report, A Vast Injustice.

16/10/2009 - Ombudsman Releases New Edition of Guide to Province's Sunshine Law
Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin yesterday officially presented the new edition of his office's guide to open municipal meetings in Ontario – The Sunshine Law Handbook – to Mayor Mike Bradley of Sarnia. The Ombudsman's Office will distribute the guide free of charge to every mayor and municipal councillor across the province.

1/10/2009 - Statement by Ontario Ombudsman André Marin on Avastin funding
"Yesterday, I issued A Vast Injustice, a report on my investigation into the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s decision-making concerning the funding of Avastin for colorectal cancer patients. The basic premise of my report is that although the Ministry is entitled to consider cost in deciding whether to fund a cancer drug such as Avastin, any limit on the duration of funding should be supported by sound medical evidence."

30/09/2009 - Ministry decision to restrict cancer drug “verges on cruelty” - Ombudsman finds cap on Avastin funding unreasonable and wrong
The Ontario government’s funding cutoff for patients taking the cancer drug Avastin is unreasonable, wrong and “verges on cruelty,” Ontario Ombudsman André Marin’s latest investigation has found.”

14/09/2009 - Ombudsman applauds restrictions on lottery ticket retailer play
Ontario Ombudsman André Marin today welcomed the announcement by the provincial government and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) that will ban retailers from buying lottery tickets in their own stores as of Nov. 3.

04/09/2009 - Ombudsman now has the power to investigate Cambridge Memorial Hospital
Ontario Ombudsman André Marin now has the jurisdiction to investigate complaints about Cambridge Memorial Hospital, following the provincial government’s appointment of a supervisor for the institution.

25/08/2009 - Ontario Ombudsman urges stricter controls on colleges: Cambrian left students unqualified; Ministry “abdicated responsibility”
Ontario Ombudsman André Marin today issued a strong back-to-school warning to the provincial government to keep a closer eye on colleges, to ensure students are getting the education they pay for. “Ontarians are entitled to expect more of their institutions,” Mr. Marin says in Too Cool For School Too, his second report in as many months involving Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

23/07/2009 - Ontario Ombudsman comments on province’s PET scan announcement
Ontario Ombudsman André Marin today welcomed the government’s announcement that it will make positron emission tomography (PET) scanning a publicly insured health service for some cancer and cardiac patients. The announcement is based in part on the Ombudsman’s advice, following his investigation into the government’s PET scan program evaluation process.

14/07/2009 - Ontario Ombudsman calls on government to better protect students: Ministry incompetence led to private career college "disaster"
Ontario Ombudsman André Marin today urged the province's Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to get tougher on unscrupulous private career colleges. His latest special report, Too Cool For School, outlines the “unmitigated disaster” of Bestech Academy, an unregistered, illegal operation which the Ministry tolerated for more than two years – while actually paying for several students to attend classes there, and subsequently even hiring its president to work in the Ministry.

23/06/2009 - Ontario Ombudsman provides value, good governance in hard times. Annual Report 2008-2009
In releasing his fourth annual report today, Ontario Ombudsman André Marin demonstrates how his office “delivers big value on a small budget,” through efficient, hard-hitting investigations that help make government better. “At times like these, the value of public services comes into sharp focus,” Mr. Marin says in the report, which reviews his office’s latest investigations and the 16,742 complaints and inquiries received in the past year.

04/06/2009 - Ombudsman to investigate Ontario’s limited funding of cancer drug
Ontario Ombudsman André Marin has launched an investigation into the provincial Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s funding of Avastin, a drug for colon cancer patients. The province’s funding of Avastin is limited to 16 two-week cycles, regardless of patient response to the treatment. The Ombudsman is investigating whether the Ministry’s decision to limit funding in this way was informed and reasonable.

29/04/2009 - Ombudsman finds closed Oshawa meeting illegally involved lobbying, not just ‘education’
Ontario Ombudsman André Marin has found a city of Oshawa committee met inappropriately behind closed doors with a private business in a “lobbying” session that was supposed to be for “education and training” purposes only. “This is the very type of conduct that municipalities should scrupulously avoid occurring in a closed committee meeting,” he says in his report, The ABCs of Education and Training.

27/04/2009 - Ontario Ombudsman censures Oshawa for "pirating" report
Ontario Ombudsman André Marin today tabled a report signalling to municipalities that they must respect the law when they engage the services of his office. In his report, Pirating our Property, the Ombudsman found the city of Oshawa’s failure to co-operate with his office to be contrary to law.

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