June 15, 2005 - 1 — Le Protecteur du citoyen

35th Annual Report of the Protecteur du citoyen (2004–2005)

“This could happen to YOU”

Quebec City, June 15, 2005 – The Protectrice du citoyen, Pauline Champoux-Lesage tabled her annual report to the National Assembly today, entitled “This could happen to you”. How would you react if you were wrongly jailed or had to pay back funds two years after they were received and formally confirmed? With this simple question, the Protectrice du citoyen reminds all those working at and on behalf of the Administration that they have to take responsibility for their mistakes or oversights and right the wrongs done to citizens.

As the government restructures and delegates certain administrative tasks to a range of agencies and independent bodies, the Protectrice du citoyen wants to make sure the public doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. The Administration must take the necessary steps to ensure that service to the public is not compromised when it delegates tasks. That means agencies and bodies cannot claim to be merely agents, but must take responsibility for their actions so that citizens know where they stand.

New jurisdiction in the health and social services network?

The Protectrice du citoyen is delighted with the new jurisdiction it may receive over health and social services under Bill 83, An Act amending the Act respecting health services and social services and other legislative provisions. Since the Protecteur du citoyen operates at arm’s length from the executive branch and reports to the National Assembly, the public would have an impartial, independent form of recourse. This is the result of a recommendation made in 1991 by the Committee of Institutions and later taken up by a work group instituted by the Minister of Health and Social Services, who would give it the green light.

Efforts that lead to results: complaints offices

For a number of years, the Protecteur du citoyen has been raising awareness in Government of Québec departments and agencies of the importance of setting up effective, credible complaints offices. According to a study by the Protecteur du citoyen, the majority of departments and agencies offering direct services to the public now have complaints offices. As a whole, they provide easy access with little red tape. Ms. Champoux-Lesage is pleased that the public can now settle disputes directly with the departments and agencies concerned—which the Protecteur du citoyen has been recommending for years—and reiterates that her role is to step in as a last resort.

Recurrent problems

Once again this year, the Protectrice du citoyen has criticized the lack of information and clarity in certain programs, pointing to cases where people who have acted in good faith have been penalized. This is notably the case with the drug insurance program, which is still very confusing. In addition, much work remains to be done to make the information on support payment collection easier to understand, despite repeated recommendations from the Protecteur du citoyen.

In short, while good progress has been made, recurrent problems remain. This could happen to you.

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