What's New - Activities

In the opinion of Québec Ombudsperson Raymonde Saint-Germain, Bill 48 fails to clearly define the parameters governing the application of the government motor vehicle inspection program (vehicles 8 years old and over) introduced by the bill. It is also impossible to tell what impact the program will have on citizens. The Ombudsperson is therefore recommending that the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks clarify his intentions with regard to the parameters governing the program’s application.

The Ombudsperson stated her position in a letter to the Chair of the Committee on Transportation and the Environment, which begins deliberating today.

• La lettre de la protectrice du citoyen concernant le projet de loi nº 48 (PDF, 2,3 Mo) (The report is being translated and will be posted on Wednesday May 23.)

Our investigation results outline the facts and explain the action taken by the Québec Ombudsman. This week: a user who must undergo four hours of dialysis three times a week complained that the hospital centre’s equipment is uncomfortable. In another case, a soon-to-be mother contested the fact that she was not free to choose the place where she would have her baby.

This week, the Québec Ombudsman released two reports further to interventions involving the health and social services network. The first report contains proposed corrective measures, particularly with regard to delays and service quality, arising from an investigation it conducted at the emergency unit of Hôpital régional de Saint-Jérôme. The second report is in response to a tragedy experienced by a family that had been under the care of Centre jeunesse de la Mauricie et du Centre-du-Québec for two years. In one of its recommendations, the Québec Ombudsman emphasizes the need for independent and unbiased case reviews so that situations such as the one described do not recur.

• Intervention Report at the Centre Jeunesse de la Mauricie et du Centre-du-Québec (PDF, 89 Ko)
• Intervention Report at Hôpital Régional de Saint-Jérôme (PDF, 156 Ko)

As consultations on Bill 71 (An Act respecting compensation measures for the carrying out of projects affecting wetlands or bodies of water) got underway today, Ombudsperson Raymonde Saint-Germain conveyed her comments to the Chair of the Committee on Transportation and the Environment.

• The Ombudsperson’s letter concerning Bill 71 (PDF, 71 Ko)

Today the President of the National Assembly tabled the Québec Ombudsman’s 2012-2017 strategic plan (Conduire à la pleine solution, pour un, pour tous). The title captures how the Québec Ombudsman envisions its mission and actions. La pleine solution refers to the fact that a "full solution" is one that gets to the heart of a problem with a view to solutions that last. Pour un, pour tous  is a reminder that if a situation denounced in a complaint harms more than one citizen, the solution sought must be the right one for all citizens. Click on strategic plan to access the document. Strategic plan (French Version), Presentation Table (French Version)

The Québec Ombudsman has investigated the accessibility of long-term home support services (personal assistance and domestic help) for people with disabilities and people with a loss of independence (seniors in particular). The report underscores the gap between the home support policy, adopted in 2003, and the daily lives of the people who receive—or should receive—these services.

• Press release on long-term home support services
• Investigation Report on long-term home support services (PDF, 343 Ko)

Ombudsperson Raymonde Saint-Germain has submitted a brief to the Committee on Institutions, as part of the consultations and public hearings phase for Bill 46, An Act Respecting Independent Police Investigations.

• Brief of Bill 46(PDF, 3 Mo)
• Summary of Bill 46(PDF, 70 Ko)
• Press release on Bill 46(PDF, 61 Ko)

Starting today, we'll be posting two short articles a month on different aspects of the Québec Ombudsman, such as its role, how it can help you, recent interventions, the rights of citizens in their dealings with public services, and answers to your questions. Just click on the "All articles" hyperlink at the bottom of the column on the right to home page.

Following a report, the Québec Ombudsman intervened regarding Foyer Le Cardinal inc. and Les Centres de jeunesse Lanaudière. The report emphasizes the disorganization surrounding the closing and postponing of the closing of the residential resource where six young people aged 10 to 15 with mental health problems were lodged.

With our RSS feed, you have quick access to the following sections:  What's New – Activities; and Investigation results. Click on the title to find out how to subscribe. NOTE: Due to the recent changes to our website, former subscribers will have re-subscribe for the corresponding RSS feed.

Did you know that the Québec Ombudsman also takes complaints from enterprises? Incorporated companies, family businesses, big or small organizations, you name it! To help you, today the Québec Ombudsman is posting its first-ever form for enterprises that want to use our services.

Ombudsperson Raymonde Saint-Germain will today take part in a seminar hosted by the Observatoire international de la santé et des services sociaux. The seminar will look at ways for healthcare organizations to improve their performance. Her remarks will focus on how proactive harm prevention can leverage performance. You can read the Ombudsperson’s speech.

• Ombudsperson's speech (PDF, 84 Ko)

Today, the Association des Ombudsmans et Médiateurs de la Francophonie (AOMF) posted its new publication, the RECUEIL DE LA DOCTRINE DE L'OMBUDSMAN, online. The main producer of this major and innovative reference tool is the Québec Ombudsman, assisted by the Institution du Médiateur du Maroc, with funding from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).

The compendium is a collection of work methods, solutions and good practices:

• developed by the 20 participating AOMF members (ombudsmen and mediators);
• that have enabled citizens' rights to be respected;
• that have contributed to improving governments' public services and proper democratic governance.

The purpose of the compendium is to support the mission of ombudsmen and mediating institutions, contribute to their training, and improve the quality of their work.

Since its inception, the Québec Ombudsman has helped promote of the ombudsman concept in Québec and elsewhere. In association with the Médiateur de la République française, the Québec Ombudsman founded Association des ombudsmans et médiateurs de la Francophonie (AOMF) in 1997.

The Québec Ombudsman is also an institutional member of the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman (FCO), the Canadian Council of Parliamentary Ombudsman (CCPO), the United States Ombudsman Association (USOA) and the International Ombudsman Institute (IIO).

Representatives from other countries interested in the work methods used in Québec are regular visitors to the Québec Ombudsman's offices, where internships, seminars, and workshops are held.

The Québec Ombudsman also plays an active role in promoting the ombudsman concept in Québec by encouraging and helping government ministries and agencies and other public sector organizations in setting up services for handling complaints.

While welcoming the intention behind Bill 16 to increase protection for the elderly lodged in certified private residences, the Québec Ombudsperson cautions against the possible negative impacts of some of the changes proposed. "Some of the amendments introduced by the bill seem to me to be more a matter of easing for the benefit of operators than of tightening for the benefit of residents," she said.

Brief by the Québec Ombudsman as part of the special consultations on Bill 16

Today, the Members of the National Assembly unanimously re-appointed Raymonde Saint-Germain Québec Ombudsperson for a second five-year term of office.

Ms. Saint-Germain has been the Québec Ombudsperson since April 2006. Her investiture coincided with the expansion of the institution’s responsibilities to include second-recourse reception and processing of citizen complaints in the health and social services sector. Her achievements as Québec Ombudsperson include the following special reports: Towards Services that are Better Adjusted to Detainees with Mental Disorders, The Québec Investigative Procedure for Incidents Involving Police Officers, Report on Government Services for Children with PDDs, and Handling of the Listeriosis Crisis Surrounding Québec Cheeses.

"Remedy for a citizen – remedy for all citizens whenever a resolution has a collective impact"—this is what Raymonde Saint-Germain’s team does every day... and why, above and beyond individual processing of complaints, the Québec Ombudsperson proposes preventive action, especially on the legislative front, and conducts system-wide investigations. Since 2006, she has recommended amendments to some 50 bills and draft regulations.

Her recommendations, whether they concern public administration or the health and social services network, always seek to strike a balance between delivery of quality services and responsible use of public monies. Keenly concerned about the plight of the most vulnerable members of our society, the Québec Ombudsperson pays special attention to the impact of public services on these citizens and the efforts made by government departments and agencies to understand them and to adapt accordingly.

Raymonde Saint-Germain has been the senior vice chair of the Association des ombudsmans et médiateurs de la Francophonie (AOMF) since September 2009. In June 2009, she received the Prix Orange award from the Association des groupes d’intervention en défense des droits en santé mentale du Québec for her initiative in leading a system-wide investigation into the infringement of the rights of hospitalized psychiatric patients.

The Québec Ombudsman has 132 full-time employees working out of its offices in Québec City and Montréal. Every year it receives more than 20,000 requests from citizens, groups of citizens or businesses.

The draft regulation introduces a new obligation for holders of a certificate of authorization for certain drilling and fracturing work on gas or petroleum wells, namely, that from now on they must periodically file with the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks the information collected in the course of their activities.

The Québec Ombudsperson is of the opinion that the slate of fines for non-compliance with this obligation varies widely and is unstructured. Given the cost of conducting the required analyses, certificate holders could opt to pay a fine rather than hire an expert, even when sanctions for repeat offences are taken into account.

As Raymonde Saint-Germain points out, it is vital that the regulation fulfill its intentions. She therefore recommends that the Minister strive to make the draft regulation better reflect the spirit and letter of Bill 89 (Act to amend the Environment Quality Act in order to reinforce compliance). To that end, she proposed the following measures:

• set out criteria for determining the fines imposed; and
• formally notify the Government or the Minister of any situation involving repeat offences so that the certificate of authorization issued to the offender can be reconsidered.

Letter

The report highlights the fact that mental health services in Québec were structured without due consideration for the detention community's specific features, and identifies major deficiencies in terms of access to and continuity of the health services and social services available to detainees with mental health disorders. It examines the entire process, from the police intervention through incarceration to release, and presents observations together with proposed solutions at each step.

Press Release

Report

With the recent changes in the Census of Canada, households no longer have to fill in the long version of the Statistics Canada questionnaire. However, completion of the short form sent to each household is mandatory.

What is the role of the Québec Ombudsman in the 2011 Census?

• In recent months, the Québec Ombudsman has been part of an advisory committee struck by the Institut de la statistique du Québec to make government bodies aware of the importance of the data collected during the national census—basic information used to define public needs and, in turn, the mission of public services. As an organization particularly concerned with the quality of government services, the Québec Ombudsman fully endorses the effort to prompt citizens to fulfil their obligations in this regard.
• The fact that as of this year completion of the long-form version of the questionnaire by Canadian households is voluntary raises fears that fewer of the most underprivileged members of our society will participate in this exercise and will therefore be under-represented when the time comes to define resources based on the statistical data. The Québec Ombudsman, concerned that more vulnerable communities receive adequate public servicing, feels very strongly that their needs must be known and taken into account.
• Closer to home, the Québec Ombudsman continually carries out studies based on data from sources that include the Institut de la statistique du Québec and Statistics Canada. On this account, it is in its interest that information be accurate and up-to-date.

Bill 2 validates the Order in Council dated 11 November 2009 (quashed by the Superior Court of Québec in November 2010), whose specific purpose was to authorize the Minister of Transport to use lots situated in an agricultural zone for purposes other than agriculture (extension of Highway 87).

The Québec Ombudsperson transmitted its comments on the following points to the Chair of the Committee on Transportation and the Environment:

• the importance for the legislator to ensure respect of the rights of all citizens concerned by the effects of the bill by seeing to it that they are treated with justice and fairness and in keeping with democratic values;
• the exceptional nature of any legislative provision retroactive in scope, and, in such case, the need to demonstrate that it is necessary;
• the fair balance that parliamentarians must strike between, on the one hand, exercise of the National Assembly's sovereignty, and, on the other, its values and procedural fairness.

Letter

Although Revenu Québec's status changed as it became Agence du revenu du Québec, the Québec Ombudsman is still the taxpayers' advocate. All taxpayers, including individuals, businesses, and organizations, are reminded that they can call on the Québec Ombudsman to handle any complaints about Agence du revenu.

Press release

The proposed changes in the Act to improve the management of the health and social services network will have little practical or immediate effect on the improvement of services to the public. "Access to clearly defined, well-integrated and well-dispensed services at a reasonable cost requires a simplification of structures, strengthened accountability and clarification of the basket of services, which are not addressed in this bill," stated Raymonde Saint-Germain.

Press release

Speech

The Québec Ombudsman is making available the findings of selected investigations online. This will apply to investigations into both the public administration and the health and social services sectors. You can follow the findings of the Québec Ombudsman's investigations by subscribing to our RSS feed.

The Québec Ombudsperson has written to Minister Raymond Bachand, expressing her concern about Bill 117, which provides for mandatory automatic transfer of the new solidarity tax credit. Although she supports the principle of automatic transfers of funds, since they reduce the Government's administrative costs, Ms. Saint-Germain is worried that people who do not have an account with a financial institution will be unable to obtain the new credit.

The Québec Ombudsperson's letter

The Québec Ombudsperson has made recommendations to the Minister of Health and Social Services, aimed at correcting a number of problems with the implementation of an Act that is applicable in certain exceptional circumstances only. During the Québec Ombudsman's investigations, some significant disparities were observed in the way the Act is applied in different institutions and regions, and by different people involved in the process.

Report

Press release

The Québec Ombudsperson contacted the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks regarding the draft regulation amending the activities framework of the proposed Samuel-De Champlain Biodiversity Reserve. The draft regulation provides that the government may authorize gas and oil exploration. The Ombudsperson recommends that such activities not be carried out in a proposed or existing biodiversity reserve.

The Québec Ombudsperson's Letter