CANADA | BC Ombudsperson contributes opinion piece on role of oversight in a pandemic

BC Ombudsperson Jay Chalke wrote an opinion piece on the role of oversight during the pandemic, which was published in one of the provincial papers past weekend.

In his commentary Ombudsperson Jay Chalke refers to the various emergency declarations and laws, which give government great power and leave the public with many questions such as: What are the implications or how do they affect each one of us? More importantly, citizens wonder what they can do if they feel wronged and who is watching to make sure governments aren’t making mistakes.

It is in these challenging times, that oversight bodies such as the Ombudsman have become even more valuable and important. In his commentary Ombudsperson Chalke therefore stresses that “given the speed at which governments are having to react and act, Parliamentary oversight officers are there to catch these errors quickly, to provide thoughtful recommendations, to prevent reoccurrence and to bring unaddressed issues to legislator and public attention.”

To read the Ombudsperson’s full opinion piece, please click HERE or see the Link further down below.

Source: Office of the BC Ombudsperson, Canada