BackVoice of the vulnerable: the role of ombudsman has traditionally been to speak for those who cannot, to give ordinary citizens access to justice through independent, impartial investigations of government services. With the help of his social media followers, the office selected the Ombudsman’s top 10 stories of 2013.
In Ontario in 2013, the Ombudsman’s work focused on serious issues affecting some of the province’s most vulnerable people, including inmates who were abused by their jailers, victims of police shootings, developmentally disabled adults in crisis, and children in unlicensed daycares.
The Ombudsman also called attention to the ongoing need to, among other things, strengthen the Special Investigations Unit, regulate the non-emergency medical transfer industry, repair the patchwork oversight of municipal meetings, and extend the Ombudsman’s mandate to the MUSH sector.
With the help of his social media followers, the office selected the follwoing as the Ombudsman’s top 10 stories of 2013:
- Adults with developmental disabilities in crisis
- Supreme Court supports transparent police oversight
- De-escalation of police/citizen conflicts
- Children in unlicensed day-cares
- Excessive use of force by correctional officers
- Exposing municipal secrecy: Open Meeting Law Enforcement Team investigations
- Making non-emergency transportation of patients safer
- Spotlight on MUSH sector
- Ombudsman’s influence honoured
- Public engagement at an all-time high
Source: Office of the Ontario Ombudsman, Canada
