Speeches and articles

December 7, 2021

Language commissioner proposes tool to assess availability, quality of French services (QP Briefing)

Ontario French Language Services Commissioner Kelly Burke said her office received 351 complaints related to accessing French language services, a 15 per cent increase from the previous year.
June 29, 2021

Ontario ombudsman highlights lack of oversight of public health units (CP24)

Local public health units, which have been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, lack independent oversight, Ontario's ombudsman said Tuesday, calling on the province address the issue as...
June 3, 2021

Ontario Bar Association Tom Marshall Award of Excellence 2021 - Acceptance Remarks

Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé has been named this year’s recipient of the Ontario Bar Association’s Tom Marshall Award of Excellence for Public Sector Lawyers, honouring his contributions to public...
May 20, 2021

Ontario ombudsman calls for overhaul of ‘wholly inadequate’ paramedic services oversight system (Global News)

Ontario’s ombudsman is calling on the provincial government to revamp the oversight system for paramedic services, saying it’s “complicated, overburdened, and wholly inadequate.”
December 10, 2020

French language services commissioner said ‘adequate planning’ would have resolved most complaints (QP Briefing)

French Language Services Commissioner Kelly Burke said most of the complaints her office has received about access to services and materials in French could have been avoided with "adequate planning."
October 6, 2020

Ontario ombudsman blasts ‘outdated’ police training tool that emphasizes weapons over de-escalation, despite repeated calls for change (The Star)

More than four years after a scathing report cited “neglected” provincial officer training as a factor in fatal shootings, the Ontario ombudsman is blasting the “glacial” pace of police reform as the...
July 28, 2020

Ombudsman’s office deals with 3,014 complaints (North Bay Nugget)

North Bay, West Nipissing tied at 13 The Ontario Ombudsman’s Office received more than a dozen complaints each involving the City of North Bay and Municipality of West Nipissing last year.
July 2, 2020

Ontario ombudsman report highlights ‘appalling’ jail conditions, COVID-19 complaints (The Lawyers Daily)

Hailing the past 12 months as a “year like no other,” the Ontario ombudsman has released a fiscal 2019-20 report that highlights, among other things, his office’s handling of more than 800 COVID-19...
June 30, 2020

Ontario’s ombudsman received more than 800 complaints due to COVID-19 (The Star)

Ontario ombudsman Paul Dubé says his investigation into the high death toll from COVID-19 at nursing homes is looking at how more inspections and higher standards could have saved lives.
June 30, 2020

Ontario ombudsman receives record number of complaints about provincial jails (The Canadian Press)

Report details problems with overcrowding, poor living conditions, lack of access to medical care
May 13, 2020

Near North board ‘well on way’ to addressing ombudsman report (North Bay Nugget)

The Near North District School Board “is well on the way” to meeting all the recommendations contained in an ombudsman’s report.
January 15, 2020

‘We want young people calling us directly’: head of the new children and youth unit in the Ontario ombudsman’s office (QP Briefing)

The message Ontario’s Ombudsman Paul Dubé and the head of his office’s new children and youth unit want to share with young people across the province is: if you have a question, call.
June 26, 2019

International Association of Language Commissioners' Annual Conference

On June 26, 2019, Ontario Ombudsman, Paul Dubé, gave a welcome speech at the International Association of Language Commissioners' VIth Annual International Conference, in Toronto.
May 9, 2019

'We have the people to do it': Ontario ombudsman pledges 'care' in taking over child welfare probes (CBC News)

Paul Dube's office now has specialized unit to handle investigative functions of former child advocate
May 7, 2019

Ombudsman’s new open meeting case digest (Municipal World)

Imagine you are an Ontario municipal councillor, perusing the agenda for your next meeting, and you see that a new report by the municipality’s integrity commissioner is scheduled to be discussed...
February 1, 2019

Politicians cannot do the work of independent officers of the Legislature (QP Briefing)

A recent column by Deb Hutton, published by Queen’s Park Briefing on January 18, raised provocative questions about the role and usefulness of independent officers of the Legislature.
November 7, 2018

Ontario ombudsman offers masterclass in public impact: ‘Our power is in our voice’ (The Mandarin)

Successful legal advocates must not only bring together evidence to successfully make their case, they must also craft a clear argument around a compelling narrative, and the same goes for an...
October 30, 2018

Cannabis delivery complaints under review by Office of the Ontario Ombudsman (CTV News)

The Office of the Ontario Ombudsman says it has received complaints over delays in the delivery of cannabis in the province, almost two weeks since the drug was legalized across the country.
April 25, 2018

Police officer 'gave himself the space and time' in high-stakes arrest: experts (National Post)

Experts say the powerful video of Alek Minassian’s arrest reveals a textbook case of an officer defusing danger through a series of life-and-death choices based on training and a calm mind.
February 1, 2018

Open Meetings - After 10 years, Ontario's "new era" of municipal transparency continues to evolve (Municipal World)

Ontario municipalities and its citizens are marking an important anniversary with the arrival of this new year. It has been exactly 10 years since they embarked upon what was heralded as a "new era"...
November 27, 2017

Speaker's Corner: Making police accountable long overdue (Law Times)

There are many communities that have for years decried a crisis of confidence in Ontario police. The province’s much-anticipated new omnibus policing legislation, packaged as the Safer Ontario Act...