Back to press releases archives

    31st Annual Rapport of the Québec Ombudsman (2000–2001) 

    "The Citizen Always Comes First"

    Statistics speak volumes about the Québec ombudsman's action 

    Québec City, November 13, 2001 – Ms. Pauline Champoux-Lesage, the Québec Ombudsman, notes that over the last fiscal year, the number of requests filed with the Québec Ombudsman dropped slightly, from 26,258 in 1999–2000 to 24,475 in 2000–2001, a drop of 7%. Over the course of the year, 6,281 investigations were completed; of this number, 1,779 proved to be justified. In other words, 28.3% of the citizens who called on the Québec Ombudsman were justified in complaining about government services. 

    Here are a few statistics:

    • The investigations revealed that the mistakes and injustices mainly consisted of:
      • Unreasonable delays: 29%
      • Unreasonable or unfair actions: 12% 
      • Services not available: 12% 
      • Actions not in compliance with laws, regulations or guidelines: 11%
      • Negligence or inaction: 11% 
    • The Québec Ombudsman refused to intervene in 11,980 requests, mainly because they related to issues beyond its jurisdiction. It concluded that 3,308 requests were merely requests for information. Finally, the Québec Ombudsman directed 1,623 citizens to the relevant services of the departments and agencies concerned or to their complaints offices.
    • Among the departments and agencies that were the subject of at least 20 requests, eight of them were targeted by a level of justified complaints of over 30%:

    Departments and agencies

    Justified
    complaints

    Level of
    justified
    complaints

    Ministère de l'Industrie et du Commerce

    58 sur 113

    51 %

    Ministère de la Famille et de l'Enfance

    13 sur 26

    50 %

    Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail

    118 sur 265

    45 %

    Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux

    9 sur 22

    41 %

    Ministère de la Sécurité publique

    698 sur 1 795

    39 %

    The Public Curator

    72 sur 193

    37 %

    Ministère du Revenu

    352 sur 1 007

    35 %

    Commission administrative des régimes de retraite et d'assurances

    17 sur 51

    33 %

    • Over 91% of the Québec Ombudsman's recommendations to departments and agencies on redressing errors and injustices were followed.

    Public services

    2000-2001

    Health and social services network

    1 337

    Education network

    226

    Municipal network

    669

    • The requests for intervention concerning private matters increased from 4,518 in 1999-2000 to 5,715 in 2000-2001, an increase of 26%. One observation must be underscored: the Quebec Ombudsman will have to provide the public with more information on its fields of jurisdiction.
    • Naturally, the departments and agencies that deal directly with citizens are most often targeted by the requests processed by the Québec Ombudsman; they are: Sécurité publique (3,597), Emploi et Solidarité sociale (2,742), Revenu (1,755), Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (995), Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (765) and Education (Student Financial Assistance) (527). These six departments and agencies represent more than 80% of the requests processed by the Québec Ombudsman over the past year.

      – 30 – 

    Top of page

    © Le Protecteur du citoyen 1999-2011

    Last update :  December 7, 2010