Law360 Canada
By Ian Burns
June 26, 2025
The Canadian Council of Parliamentary Ombudsman (CCPO) has endorsed a set of key principles designed to ensure the independence, effectiveness and accountability of ombuds institutions across Canada.
The principles adopted during the council’s June meeting reaffirm the essential role of ombudsman offices in upholding good governance, protecting individual rights and reinforcing public trust in democratic institutions. The CCPO is a collaborative body representing 11 provincial and territorial ombudsman offices across Canada.
The document outlining the principles contains seven principal themes — independence and autonomy, appointment and security of tenure, mandate, powers of investigation, transparency, accountability, and interpretation.
“These principles reflect our collective commitment to ensure ombudsman institutions across Canada remain robust, impartial and accessible to all,” said CCPO chair Sandy Hermiston. “They are also a clear signal to legislators and the public that effective oversight is essential to a healthy democracy.”
Parliamentary ombudsman offices across Canada serve as independent bodies that receive and investigate public complaints about government services. They help resolve issues of unfairness, improve public service delivery and protect the rights of individuals — all while being independent from political or administrative influence.
Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé said the recommendations “are all important” but pointed to security of tenure as being a key one.
“An ombudsman should be safe knowing they can do their job without fear or favour, as they say, and not have to look over their shoulders and worry about being removed from office because they put out a report that might counter the narrative of a government or contain some inconvenient truths,” he said. “What politicians have told me over the years is that we love you when we’re in opposition, but you’re a pain in the butt when we’re in government.”
And another key concern for an ombudsman is having adequate powers to do what they need to do, said Dubé.
“You need powers to compel witnesses and documents, so the ombudsman has to have legal access to any document through data or materials — even those that are usually confidential,” he said. “Just having that power to do the job and be given the tools to serve the public interest in doing the kind of work we do, independently and impartially, and coming down on the side of fairness and the rule of law.”
The CCPO is calling on all Canadian legislators and public authorities to recognize and uphold these principles to ensure ombudsman institutions can continue serving the public with integrity, fairness and independence.
Jay Chalke, Dubé’s counterpart in British Columbia, said as trust in public institutions continues to decline across Canada it is more important than ever that people have access to strong, independent oversight.
“Ombuds offices play a vital role in protecting fundamental rights, including the right to access justice, education, health care and fair treatment in public services,” he said. “We are here to ensure that government treats people fairly and that public services are accountable, transparent and responsive to everyone’s needs.”
Dubé said that most ombudsman legislation across Canada is largely in compliance with the
principles but bringing them out is “a matter of being proactive.”
“It’s saying let’s make sure these powers are never in peril, and let’s be proactive in order to prevent — rather than respond — to threats to our independence and our operational capacities,” he said. “Let’s be proactive and prevent the threats from ever happening.”
More information about the CCPO can be found here.