Annual Reports

Ombudsman’s Message - Essential Lessons from a Pandemic Year

At this time last year, reporting on the impact of the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ontario public services, I observed that in mid-March 2020, “everything changed.”

Commissioner's Message - Two watchdogs, one access point
On January 13, 2020, I officially took up my duties as French Language Services Commissioner, following a rigorous selection process conducted across the country by the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario.

As mandated by the Ombudsman Act, this report reviews the main trends and highlights of the 26,423 cases my Office handled between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020. In other words, most of the resolutions and investigations described herein took place long before the first cases of novel coronavirus were confirmed in Ontario.

Ombudsman’s message - A defining moment
In many ways, this past year has been a defining one for the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario. Without question, fiscal 2018-2019 was one of the busiest years in this Office’s 44-year history in terms of complaints handled – 27,419, representing an increase of almost 30% over the previous year. It was also historic in terms of our mandate, which was expanded by government for the second time in four years.

Ombudsman’s Message - The value of independent oversight

In many organizations, an Annual Report is a showcase of numbers, an illustrated balance sheet that carefully quantifies success, growth and value. As I present my third Annual Report as Ontario’s Ombudsman, I can see evidence of all of those things, but they are not easily quantified or reduced to a set of figures.

Ombudsman’s Message - New Era of Oversight
As I report on this, my first full year as Ontario Ombudsman, I am encouraged by several recent developments that signal a trend toward stronger oversight of public sector bodies in this province.

Ombudsman's Message - Expanding our Horizons
It is an honour and a privilege for me to serve as Ontario’s seventh Ombudsman. I am particularly grateful for the opportunity to lead such a remarkable team; one I have long held in high esteem. Collectively, we are dedicated to serving the people of Ontario and passionate about our role in enhancing governance and promoting administrative fairness.

Ombudsman's Message - A decade of progress
This annual report is a milestone for the Ombudsman’s Office. We are approaching our 40th anniversary, and I have had the honour of serving Ontarians as Ombudsman for just over 10 of those years. The past decade has been a time of remarkable change and progress in government accountability. Even more lies ahead in the coming months, with the historic expansion of our mandate to municipalities, universities and school boards.

Ombudsman’s Message - Reaching new heights
This year has been an exceptional one for my Office, for both the sheer volume of public complaints and systemic investigations that we managed, and the historic progress that was achieved towards modernizing our mandate.

Ombudsman's Message - The Multipurpose Ombudsman
The stories in this report, arising from the 19,726 cases we received in 2012-2013, demonstrate how my Office uses a variety of tools to resolve individual and systemic concerns. Picture a “Swiss Army”-style knife with all sorts of useful accountability gadgets: A barometer, a horsefly, an oil can, a safety valve and more.