Process undermined
Residents who live close to an open-pit mine contacted us in frustration after complaining to their municipality about noise, dust, and emissions for years.
ATTENTION: OUR ONLINE FORMS ARE DOWN: Our web forms for individual complaints and for mandatory reporting of child deaths and serious bodily harm (DSBH) will be unusable between 5p.m. Friday, October 3 and 9 a.m. Monday October 6. You can still file a complaint or a DSBH report by email at info@ombudsman.on.ca.
Residents who live close to an open-pit mine contacted us in frustration after complaining to their municipality about noise, dust, and emissions for years.
Residents who live close to an open-pit mine contacted us in frustration after complaining to their municipality about noise, dust, and emissions for years. Our review revealed that the municipality had not established a clear complaints procedure or communicated how people should raise their concerns about the mine. Frontline municipal staff sometimes did not know what to do with these complaints, and at least two different departments responded at various times, leading to confusion. The municipality agreed to clarify its process directly to the residents and on its website. It also committed to training staff so they are able to handle similar complaints in future.