BackSome of the main interventions in 2014 were – among others – the Ombudsman’s investigation report on “Access to public education for children with a precarious immigration status” (November 2014), in which the Québec Ombudsman recommended that all children 6 to 16 years old living in Québec have access to public education, regardless of their or their parents’ immigration status. The fact that currently children are deprived of this contravenes the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Québec has declared itself bound.
The Ombudsman further presented a brief to the Committee on Health and Social Services on “Bill 10 - Act to modify the organization and governance of the health and social services network, in particular by abolishing the regional agencies” (October 2014). In the Québec Ombudsman’s opinion, access to quality services hinges on the existence of measures aimed at streamlining structures and clarifying the players’ responsibilities. That said, Bill 10 presents major risks which must be properly identified and managed in order for this substantial reform to be viable.
An intervention report on “Admission of a foreign national to Royal Victoria Hospital of McGill University Health Centre” (June 2014) concluded that the admission of a Kuwaiti foreign national by the MUHC for healthcare in December 2011 occurred outside regular access channels, to the detriment of fairness.
An investigation report on “Wait times for coroners' investigations” (April 2014) considered that current wait times for coroners’ investigations have serious consequences for the families of the victims, in human and financial terms alike. It made seven recommendations to the Bureau du coroner aimed at decreasing wait times and improving the information given to the representatives of the deceased.
And last but not least, a brief presented to the Committee on Health and Social Services on “The living conditions of adults accommodated in CHSLDs” (February 2014) focused on the rights of accommodated users, the Québec Ombudsman issued a reminder that it is imperative that public institutions monitor quality within the private resources with which they have service agreements.
Source: Québec Ombudsman, Canada
