Canada | Meet the new Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson

Since October 5 2020, Mr. François Boileau will be the third person appointed to the position of Canada’s Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson. Prior to this nomination, Mr. Boileau was the French Language Services Commissioner as an independent Officer of the Ontario Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2019. His role consisted mainly of receiving complaints from members of the public and making recommendations on matters pertaining to the implementation of the French Languages Services Act. For nearly 30 years, as a senior executive, he has developed expertise as an ombudsperson, as well as in oversight, investigation, and governance.

Before his appointment as Commissioner, Mr. Boileau served as legal counsel for the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages with responsibility for landmark cases, which went before the Supreme Court of Canada. Before this, he held pivotal positions with the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA), at its Québec City and Ottawa offices, including director, political and legal liaison officer, and legal counsel. One of his most important achievements during that time was representing the FCFA before the Ontario Court of Appeal in the Montfort case. For this case, he devised strategies and played a pivotal role in legal coordination of the interveners, which included the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada and the Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario (ACFO), now the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO).

Mr. Boileau became the first executive director of the Court Challenges Program of Canada in Winnipeg in 1995. During his tenure, he developed the organization’s strategic priorities and operational plans and headed the language rights component of the program. In addition to a Law Degree (LL.L.) from the University of Ottawa (1991), Mr. Boileau holds a Certificate in Alternate Dispute Resolution from York University (2020), a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science (1988) and a Certificate in History (1985) from the Université de Montréal.

He holds numerous distinctions including the prestigious Paulette-Gagnon Award, Assemblée de la Francophonie de l'Ontario, the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre de la Pléiade, Order of the Francophonie and Dialogue of Cultures, the Order of Merit, Civil Law Section, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, the Order of Merit, Association des juristes d'expression française de l'Ontario (AJEFO) and Communicator of the Year, Alliance des radios francophones du Canada (ARC).

Source: Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, Canada