Budget recovery measures: respect for citizens’ rights must prevail – 2013-2014 Annual Report of the Québec Ombudsman

Press Release

Québec City, September 18, 2014 – Today the 2013-2014 Annual Report of the Québec Ombudsman was tabled in the National Assembly. The Ombudsperson, who fully subscribes to the need for public financial recovery, insisted on the importance of decisions that respect citizens’ rights and that are made by gauging the impact these decisions will have on individuals and businesses alike.

“In applying recovery measures, care must always be taken not to create injustice or unfairness,” cautioned Raymonde Saint-Germain. She insisted on the importance of abiding by the principles of transparency, solidarity with the most vulnerable among us and the accountability incumbent on public services in this context. Referring to situations in which bureaucratic rigidity caused citizens harm, she called for flexibility to prevail in examining situations that are unforeseen or are not standard.

The Ombudsperson also reported that, over the years, the time it takes to get services has been getting longer, including the wait for being heard by administrative tribunals. Year after year, wait times for services and difficulties accessing them top the list of grounds for substantiated complaints across the spectrum.

Given these findings, Ms. Saint-Germain called for the fair distribution of resources and improved efficiency in order to preserve as much as possible the direct services required by the public, as well as the quality of these services, and in such a way that they are accessible at reasonable cost and within a reasonable time.

The Ombudsperson made a point of underlining the fine cooperation of public service managers and workers and their openness to change. She explained that “often the problems are structural or related to work or service organization. The automatic assumption shouldn’t be to put the blame on deficient work quality or staff dedication.”

The 2013-2014 Annual Report of the Québec Ombudsman describes problems—as well as gains for the benefit of citizens—in seven government departments and agencies and in the health and social services network. It also presents findings and conclusions concerning Québec’s correctional services and detention centres.

This year, the Québec Ombudsman intervened with respect to 55 of the 79 government departments and agencies within its jurisdiction and concerning 173 of the 286 health and social services institutions and bodies subject to the network’s complaint examination procedure. The percentage of complaints deemed to be substantiated further to impartial and rigorous investigation by the Québec Ombudsman was 28.9% for government departments and agencies and 38.5% for the health and social services network.

Consult the 2013-2014 Annual Report of the Québec Ombudsman.

Information and requests for interviews:

Carole-Anne Huot, Communications Adviser
418-646-7143/418-925-7994
carole-anne.huot@protecteurducitoyen.qc.ca

Joanne Trudel, Director of Communications
418-644-0510/418-580-9259
joanne.trudel@protecteurducitoyen.qc.ca

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