Ombudsman complaints up 30 per cent from last year, annual report reveals

Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé released his office's annual report, showing that complaints to the provincial watchdog are up 30 per cent from last year. Though more than a third of the spike is due to the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), many complaints appear to stem from Doug Ford government policies.

The office received 27,419 complaints in 2018-19, compared to 21,154 in 2017-18. Notable areas that increased in complaints were provincial ministries (14,175 this year; 11,099 last year); municipalities (3,002 vs. 2,491); and the launch of the OCS (2,411), which was immediately overwhelmed by orders after legalization.

Dubé said his office received more than 2,400 OCS complaints in the first month, and set up a dedicated team to work with the company to resolve them.

The cannabis Crown corporation was named the "most complained-about organization" in the Ombudsman's report, receiving more cases than the next three most complained-about government programs — the Family Responsibility Office, the Ontario Disability Support Program and the Ontario Autism Program — combined. Dubé noted that nearly all of the OCS complaints came in the first month.

Dubé said he took the increase in complaints as a positive that Ontarians knew where to go if they had an issue with a government service.

"It's a good sign that people know that they have an independent and impartial officer of the legislature to turn to when they're having problems with the bureaucracy," he said. "So I take that as a sign of encouragement."

Many complaints seem to be linked to government policies.

The Ontario Autism Program, which did not appear in the 2017-18 report, received 575 complaints. Complaints about correctional facilities went up by 13 per cent, from 5,010 to 5,711. And the government's cancellation of rebates for electric cars kicked off 303 complaints, mostly from Tesla owners who did not receive the same grace period as others, Dubé said. (Tesla sued the province last summer over the issue and won).

Dubé said many of those complaining to his office about the government's work on autism were nearing the end of their rope.

"Whenever you have families struggling to secure supports and services for their loved ones, it's a difficult time for them. And they are quite passionate about the situation they're in, and sometimes, frankly, quite desperate," he said. "Even though we can't overturn government policy, we strive to be of assistance to the people that call us."

Dubé stressed that his role was "not to police politicians," but to provide oversight on their policies.

"Governments are elected to make decisions, but once they put those decisions into effect, then we are there to evaluate how well systems are functioning," he said.

Ford spokesperson Kayla Iafelice thanked Dubé and his office for their report in a statement.

"Last year, we made the decision to strengthen this office and expand the scope and impact the office will have. The increase in complaints is a sign that the Ombudsman’s office is working — and working well. However, we are government that prides itself on customer service and ability to serve the people. We are closely reviewing this report to ensure Ontarians are receiving the services they need — at the highest level possible," she said.

NDP MPP Marit Stiles said the increase in complaints is indicative of the "chaos" the government has created in its first year in office.

"What we're seeing here ... is the impact of Premier Ford's cuts to programs that Ontarians and Ontario families care about and need, and particularly the impact of those cuts and the chaos that's also being created throughout government on people, on Ontario families, and particularly on the most vulnerable," she said.

The ombudsman's office also has an expanded mandate since the government folded in the responsibilities of the Ontario Child Advocate and Ontario French Language Services Commissioner, which Dubé said he learned from media reports.

Dubé called the change an "enormous challenge," requiring an entirely new organizational structure, the merging of three different bargaining units and a totally redone budget outline for the year — "all of this while dealing with our regular work, including a 30 per cent increase in complaints."

Stiles said the government is trying to project a message that the French Language Services Commissioner's office is being rebuilt in a way — "but I don't think that Francophones, or any Ontarians in this province, are fooled," she said. "The government sent a strong, negative message to Franco-Ontarians ... that they weren't a priority."