August 25, 2021
25 August 2021
Submission to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Since January 1, 2016, my Office has had the authority to review complaints about municipalities, including municipal boards and corporations. Between January 1, 2016 and March 31, 2021, we received more than 14,000 complaints about municipalities. Through our review and investigation of complaints, we often identify best practices and suggestions to improve municipal processes and strengthen local governance and accountability. Most municipalities appreciate the information that we provide, and are happy to implement improvements locally.
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Speech
May 7, 2019
7 May 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 behind closed doors. You wonder, is that appropriate?
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Article
December 3, 2018
3 December 2018
Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs regarding Bill 57
In addressing the changes proposed by Bill 57, I will devote most of my comments to those amendments that affect the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario, and the Ombudsman Act. Most notable among these are amendments that will expand the mandate of this office into areas that are presently within the mandate of my fellow Officers of the Legislature, the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth (Child Advocate) and the French Language Services Commissioner.
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Speech
April 19, 2018
19 April 2018
Submission on Bill 6: Transforming Correctional Services Act
The Ontario Ombudsman has a long history of independently and impartially resolving and investigating concerns about Ontario’s provincial correctional facilities. Of the more than 21,000 complaints we receive each year, close to 4,000 are about correctional facilities. In addition to resolving countless individual matters, my Office has actively monitored and, when necessary, investigated serious systemic issues within the correctional system.
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Speech
February 22, 2018
22 February 2018
Oversight Enhanced - Submission to the Standing Committee on Justice Policy regarding Bill 175, Safer Ontario Act, 2017
Since 1974, there have been dozens of cases in which the use of force by police in Ontario – especially the use of lethal force on people in crisis – has raised profound questions about policing standards, training and accountability. As a result, there have been more than a dozen reviews and numerous recommendations for reform. Despite incremental improvements through the years, Ontario’s police oversight system has continued to attract criticism and undermine public confidence in policing.
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Speech
November 27, 2017
27 November 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, 2017, appears to have been met with general optimism — perhaps as much a measure of the broad need and desire for change as it is of the bill itself.
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Article
July 8, 2017
8 July 2017
I’m here to help (Toronto Sun)
As Ontario’s ombudsman, my job is to make the government work better for you.
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Article
May 31, 2017
31 May 2017
Ombudsman Strategies for Getting to Yes and Beyond: Acceptance and Implementation of Recommendations
The role of an ombudsman is to promote accountability, transparency, and fairness in the public sector. This mandate is fulfilled by receiving citizens’ complaints about a branch of government or a public sector body, determining whether the complaint has merit, and if so, working collaboratively with stakeholders to get the problem resolved.
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Article
January 31, 2017
31 January 2017
Creating a complaints procedure in municipalities
On January 30, General Counsel Laura Pettigrew spoke at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association annual conference in Toronto, detailing the steps and best practices for creating a complaints resolution procedure.
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Speech
October 27, 2016
27 October 2016
Submission to the Independent Police Oversight Review
Since 1974, police oversight in Ontario has been the subject of more than a dozen reviews, generating hundreds of recommendations for reform. In response, successive governments have introduced legislative amendments aimed at enhancing independent oversight of police. However, finding the right balance between effective policing and public accountability has proven elusive. Today, Ontario’s oversight system continues to attract criticism that threatens to undermine public confidence in policing.
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Speech
September 14, 2016
14 September 2016
All you need to know if the Ombudsman calls
Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé spoke at the Ontario East Municipal Conference in Kingston on September 14, discussing the Office's oversight of municipalities.
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Speech
August 18, 2016
18 August 2016
A win-win-win: How the Ombudsman can help you
Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé gave the keynote address at the Summer Leadership Conference for the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation in Ottawa on August 18, discussing his Office's oversight of school boards and universities.
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Speech
June 2, 2016
2 June 2016
Ombudsman 101: Oversight of School Boards
On June 2, 2016, Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé spoke to delegates of the Ontario College of Teachers during their Annual Meeting, in Toronto.
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Speech
May 12, 2016
12 May 2016
Sustainable Communities: The Northern Perspective
On May 12, 2016, Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé spoke to delegates at the 56th Annual Conference of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities, in Timmins.
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Speech
May 9, 2016
9 May 2016
Segregation: Not an Isolated Problem
No matter what you call it – segregation, solitary confinement, isolation, or separation – the practice of confining inmates to a cell, alone, for 22 hours or more a day for prolonged periods has increasingly come under fire.
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Speech
May 6, 2016
6 May 2016
Ombudsman Oversight: Are You Prepared?
On May 6, 2016, Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé spoke to delegates at the 63rd annual Ontario Small Urban Municipalities Conference in Goderich.
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Speech
April 26, 2016
26 April 2016
Bill 8 and Strengthening Municipal Accountability
On April 26, 2016, Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé spoke to Ontario's municipal integrity commissioners during the organization's spring meeting in Vaughan.
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Speech
April 6, 2016
6 April 2016
What to expect when the Ombudsman calls - Opening remarks
On March 31, the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman hosted webinars for municipalities and school boards about what stakeholders can expect when the Ombudsman calls.
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Speech
March 23, 2016
23 March 2016
Working in Partnership to Transform Public Services
On February 25, Steve Orsini, Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the Ontario Public Service, discussed the value of ombudsman oversight at a one-day forum about the expansion of the Ombudsman's oversight into municipalities and school boards.
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Speech
February 23, 2016
23 February 2016
The Value of Ombudsman Oversight
On February 23, Acting Ombudsman Barbara Finlay discussed the value of Ombudsman oversight during the annual joint conference for the Ontario Good Roads Association and Rural Ontario Municipal Association in Toronto.
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Speech
January 15, 2016
15 January 2016
Eight Simple Things to Know About Bill 8 and the Ombudsman’s New Oversight of Municipalities (Public Sector Digest)
Some 40 years after the first Ontario Ombudsman called for it – and 13 months after it was formally passed into law – municipalities in this province now come under the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman’s office. For the first time, Ontarians who have complaints related to municipal government have the same recourse to the independent, impartial services of their Ombudsman as they do when they have complaints about provincial government bodies.
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Article
December 29, 2015
29 December 2015
New year, new era for municipal oversight in Ontario (Municipal World)
On January 1, 2016, citizens of Ontario will finally be able to bring their municipal complaints to their provincial Ombudsman. For readers in B.C., New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Yukon, this won’t seem like news – their ombudsmen have long had jurisdiction over municipalities, dealing with complaints about everything from misuse of public funds to bylaw changes.
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Article
September 24, 2015
24 September 2015
Written Submission to the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services - Carding
Whatever label you choose – street checks, community contacts, or carding – the practice of police officers arbitrarily stopping individuals on the street, requesting personal identification and information, and maintaining a record of the encounter for possible future use, has increasingly come under scrutiny. Some police officials maintain that street checks may help solve and prevent crime, keeping communities safe and secure. However, critics condemn the practice as unconstitutional, discriminatory (it disproportionately impacts racialized and marginalized individuals), and destructive of community relations with and confidence in police.
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Speech
May 29, 2015
29 May 2015
Speech to Ontario Association of Police Services Board
On May 29, 2015, Ontario Ombudsman André Marin spoke at the annual general meeting and spring conference for the Ontario Association of Police Services Boards, in Toronto.
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Speech
April 21, 2015
21 April 2015
Speech at Club Canadien Toronto
Ontario Ombudsman André Marin presented to the Club Canadien Toronto on April 21, 2015.
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Speech
May 24, 2014
24 May 2014
Civilian Oversight: Use It or Lose It
Speech by André Marin, Ombudsman of Ontario, to the Ontario Association of Police Services Boards, Spring Conference, May 24, 2014.
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Speech
April 26, 2010
26 April 2010
From A Vast Injustice to A Vast Improvement
Address by André Marin, Ombudsman of Ontario, at the Healthcare Leaders Innovation and Policy Forum, Catastrophic Drug Coverage – Key Recommendations, Toronto.
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Speech