Promoting Fairness for British Columbians
Promoting Fairness for British Columbians
The Ombudsman has established a process for receiving and investigating complaints about public agencies, and Ombudsman's staff will assist you when you contact the Ombudsman's Office. You may call the Office of the Ombudsman toll-free at 1-800-567-3247.
Is the Office of the Ombudsman part
of the government?
Our Office is not part of government. It is an independent Office of the Legislature established to conduct impartial investigations of complaints about government administrative unfairness. The Ombudsman reports to the provincial Legislative Assembly through the Speaker of the House.
What is the role of the Office
of the Ombudsman?
Our role is to impartially investigate complaints about the administrative actions of public agencies over which the Ombudsman has jurisdiction. We investigate complaints to determine whether in arriving at its decision the public agency acted fairly and reasonably, and whether the public agency’s actions and decisions were consistent with relevant legislation, policies and procedures. It is not the role of this Office to make decisions for a public agency or to substitute our opinion for that of the original decision maker. The Ombudsman does not act as agent or advocate for any party to a dispute, nor does the Ombudsman provide legal advice. We will decline to investigate a decision if a complainant is unable to provide information to support an allegation of unfairness. A person's disagreement with a decision is not, by itself, sufficient grounds for our Office to undertake an investigation.
Who can the Ombudsman investigate?
The Ombudsman has jurisdiction over a wide range of public agencies, including:
The Schedule to The Ombudsman Act contains a complete list of authorities.
Who cannot be investigated by
the Ombudsman?
The Ombudsman does not have jurisdiction to investigate certain complaints. Some examples are listed below:
These links are provided for information purposes only. The Office of the Ombudsman is not responsible for their content.
courts doctors
employment issues involving private companies federal programs
home and property insurance landlord and tenant (residential) inquiries
private life and health insurance private schools
What kind of complaints can the
Ombudsman investigate?
When should a complaint be
brought to the Ombudsman?
Whenever possible, you should try to resolve your complaint directly with the public agency before coming to the Ombudsman. If you are not able to reach a resolution and you feel that you have been treated unfairly by the public agency, the Ombudsman may be able to help.
You should first try to resolve your complaint directly with the public agency. Many public agencies have a process for handling complaints. Check to see if the public agency is listed in the ‘Useful Contacts’ section of this website.
Here are some suggestions for trying to resolve your complaint with the public agency:
If you are not able to reach a resolution and you feel that you have been treated unfairly, the Ombudsman may be able to help. Please review “Who can the Ombudsman Investigate” and “Who cannot be investigated by the Ombudsman” on this website.
To make a complaint to our Office you may complete and submit a complaint form. If you prefer to make your complaint verbally, or you need further advice, you may contact our Office by telephone toll-free at 1-800-567-3247 from anywhere in BC, or 387-5855 if you are calling from the Capital Region.
What should I include in my
complaint?
When completing the complaint form, take a few moments to focus and summarize the administrative decision or action you want to complain about. Tell us what result or outcome you are seeking. Be specific about which public agencies are involved and the names and phone numbers of persons you have dealt with. Include any relevant case or file numbers. It is often helpful if you attach copies of relevant documents, including copies of letters you’ve sent and received from the public agency.
The Office of the Ombudsman is a publicly funded office. There is no charge for filing a complaint.
Why did the Ombudsman’s staff
refer me to another office?
All complaints received by the Office of the Ombudsman are assessed to determine whether the complaint is against an “Authority” – that is, a public agency that is listed in the Schedule to the Ombudsman Act. If the complaint is against an agency not listed in our Schedule, our Office does not have the jurisdiction to investigate. See “Who cannot be investigated by the Ombudsman” on this website for further information.
If the complaint falls within our Office’s jurisdiction, there may be alternative remedies available. Check out “Who can the Ombudsman Investigate”. If those remedies are statutory, we are obliged to refer people to them.
In addition, we have discretion to not investigate where there is an alternative remedy. We are the “office of last resort” and the Ombudsman encourages people to first try to resolve their complaint with the agency concerned. If after exhausting those remedies you remain concerned that there has been unfairness or that the remedy was inadequate to address the problem, you may contact the Office of the Ombudsman again.
What can I
expect from the Office of the Ombudsman?
Will the Ombudsman
advocate on my behalf and support my complaint?
The Ombudsman is not an advocate or agent for any party to a dispute. Neither is the Ombudsman a defender or apologist for the government. Our investigations are impartial and independent.
A Complaints Analyst from our Intake Team will assess your complaint. If it is determined that your complaint falls within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and requires further consideration to determine whether an investigation will be undertaken, the Complaints Analyst will open a file to an Ombudsman Officer, who may then conduct an investigation into the issues of fairness. If it is determined that we are not going to investigate your complaint we will provide reasons, and when possible, suggest other complaints mechanisms that may assist you. An Ombudsman Officer or a Complaints Analyst will generally be in contact with you within a week of receiving your complaint.
What happens in an investigation?
An Ombudsman Officer will generally be in contact with you within a week of receiving your complaint to discuss your complaint with you and to determine whether there is a role for the Ombudsman's Office. If a decision is made to conduct an investigation, notice of the complaint is served to the public agency involved and information about the complaint is gathered. Some complaints can be resolved at this stage. You will be asked to provide more information if needed. If a decision is made to close the file, the Ombudsman Officer will write and advise of the reasons for discontinuing the investigation.
If it appears that an unfairness may have occurred – for example, a miscommunication of information – the alleged wrong can sometimes be corrected through a balanced and inclusive response to the complaint by the public agency. The public agency may respond and take actions to correct the matter. Our Office may decide at this point to close the file, or we may choose to stay involved until we are satisfied that the outcome reached is open, fair and accountable.
Many complaints, however, require further investigation. For example, if the initial investigation does not draw out enough information to allow us to decide that an unfairness has not occurred, and if communication with the public agency has not resulted in what our Office would consider an adequate response to the fairness concern raised, the Ombudsman Officer will continue to collect evidence and conduct interviews. The conclusion may be that the complaint is not substantiated, or that the complaint has ultimately been settled to the satisfaction of our Office. This process involves ongoing communication and information gathering with both the complainant and the public agency.
If the evidence suggests an unfairness under the terms of the Ombudsman Act, and if the public agency does not agree that this may be the case and take appropriate action to correct the unfairness, a decision will be made on how to proceed. This decision may include one or more of the following:
Our Office makes a finding of unfairness in very few cases. Once an investigation is underway, agencies are often prepared to resolve the complaint without further investigation. Often many other people are helped when a public agency improves its service delivery and practices, not just the person who made the complaint. On the other hand, in some cases we make findings that no unfairness has occurred and that the complaint is not substantiated.
How long does an investigation
take?
Your complaint will be dealt with as quickly as possible.
Some complaints can be dealt with in a matter of days. Other complaints may take
many months to investigate.
Can the Ombudsman order a public
agency to fix my problem?
The Ombudsman can, when appropriate, recommend changes to resolve an unfairness. Most of the time, public agencies accept the recommendations of the Ombudsman. However, the Ombudsman cannot order an authority to change its process, policy or decision.
What if I’m unhappy with the
Ombudsman’s investigation?
If, after discussing your concerns with the Ombudsman Officer assigned to your complaint, you are still dissatisfied with the investigative process used by our Office or the service you have received, you may ask to speak to the Officer’s supervisor, the Manager of Investigations.
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