This month Elder Voice interviewed Kim Carter, the Ombudsperson for British Columbia. The Ombudsperson's office deals with concerns regarding all citizens in B.C. We focused on Seniors.
The Office of the Ombudsperson is an extremely important resource for citizens of B.C. who have a complaint regarding a public agency. This article explains what the Office is, what it does, how and when to contact it, and how complaints are investigated.
The Office of the Ombudsperson's mandate is to ensure that people have received or are receiving fair and reasonable treatment.They are advocates for fairness from provincial public agencies.The office can be particularly helpful for people with limited resources, those who have minimal experience in dealing with provincial government agencies, or who may find it difficult to complain due to physical or cognitive challenges.
The Ombudsperson's office has existed for thirty one years. They can take their findings to a government minister, the legislative assembly, and the public, "which may cause authorities to think about how they would explain (an action or decision) to reasonable members of the public..., " Ms. Carter told us. They have the authority to make recommendation and release their findings. Further, "We have the power to shine a light on issues and have the power to speak up about them."
The Ombudsperson is mandated to investigate complaints about public agencies such as provincial ministries, health authorities, provincial boards and commissions, and crown corporations. She is not able to become involved with matters involving the police, matters covered under the Freedom of Information Act, or matters under federal jurisdiction. Although the Ombudsperson's office is not mandated to investigate complaints about private companies, such as private nursing homes or assisted living residences, they can become involved when there is some jurisdiction or responsibility through a provincial government agency. For instance, a private nursing home must be licensed by a Health Authority and the Ombudsperson can intervene with the Health Authority to work with the nursing home.
To resolve a complaint with a public agency, begin by going through available channels, such as the manager in a local health unit, or the health authority liaison connected to a nursing home. Contact the Ombudsperson's office if you have been unable to resolve the issue or you have still not received what you consider fair and reasonable treatment from.
When you call the Ombudsperson's office the first person to whom you will speak is a call coordinator. If it appears that their office is unable to help, the call coordinator will refer you to the correct place. If your concern is under their mandate, it will be forwarded to a complaint analyst who will take all of the relevant information and open a file. Your file is assigned to an investigator who does the investigation. Files are assigned according to their urgency. 60% of the files are resolved within three months, 99% within a year. Provide the investigator as much specific information regarding your concern as possible. This would include relevant dates, people involved, previous attempts to reconcile, etc.
Typically an investigator will start by collecting all the information and documents available from the person who is making the complaint. An investigator will then seek out and analyze any other relevant information, such as policies, regulations or legislation that applies to the situation. The investigator will explain the complaint to the agency involved and ask the staff there to provide any relevant information. After collecting and analyzing all this information and asking lots of questions, an investigator will consider what would be a fair resolution for all concerned and see whether that would be acceptable to both the agency and the person with the complaint.
It is unusual for an agency to refuse to accept a resolution that an investigator has proposed.However, if an agency does refuse, the investigator has the option of taking this to the Ombudsperson herself, who can then decide to go to the relevant minister with the issue. If the minister is unwilling to implement the resolution she believes is fair in the circumstances, she can then issue a formal recommendation, table a report in the legislature and make it public. This is very rare in the case of individual complaint investigations.
Often the intervention of the Ombudsperson's office leads an agency or organization to review their process and develop a different response to a complaint. However, It is important to note that if the investigator concludes that an issue has been dealt with in a fair and reasonable manner, they will not ask the agency or organization to change their policy or treatment.
A complainant is not always happy with the resolutions that are propsed by the investigator.Sometimes the change a complainant is seeking can only be brought about at the political level, or the kind of outcome they're seeking is not something an agency has the power or authority to carry out. But as Ms. Carter said, "we always explain what we can look at and what we can't, as well as the reasons for whatever conclusions we reach."
To read examples from the 2009-2010 Annual Report of the Ombudsperson on how they have intervened effectively for seniors, click here.
Click here to view the Ombudsperson's website.To contact their office call 1-800-567-3247. In Victoria (250) 387-5855
Kim Carter is a lawyer and was in the military for thirty one years where she was a chief military judge. She retired in 2006 and became B.C.'s Ombudsperson. She explained, " (Being the Ombudsperson ) is for me, a way of participating in a process that helps government treat people fairly."
