help
collapse
Press one of the expand buttons to see the full text of an article. Later press collapse to revert to the original form. The buttons below expand or collapse all articles.
expand
collapse
André Marin Reappointed
June 1, 2010 permalink
Today André Marin got a renewed five-year-term as Ontario's Ombudsman. Advocates of meaningful oversight of children's aid have won the first half of the battle by keeping an effective watchdog in the office. The other half of the battle, still being waged, is to get Mr Marin authority to look into children's aid societies.
expand
collapse
Press Release
André Marin reappointed as Ontario Ombudsman
June 1, 2010
Ontario Ombudsman André Marin’s reappointment to a five-year term was unanimously approved by all parties in the Legislature this afternoon.
“I am very pleased to have the confidence of the Legislative Assembly and I and my staff are excited to be able to continue our important work,” Mr. Marin said. “It’s an honour to be asked to serve the people of Ontario for five more years.”
The Ombudsman’s Office investigates public complaints about some 500 Ontario government ministries, corporations, agencies, boards and commissions. Upon his appointment on April 1, 2005, Mr. Marin created a special team to conduct major investigations into systemic problems, in addition to helping thousands of people with individual problems.
The government has accepted and championed virtually all of the Ombudsman’s recommendations, sparking sweeping reforms to property tax assessments, newborn screening, compensation of crime victims, the regulation of private career colleges, and the security of the provincial lottery system. Mr. Marin’s investigative model has been emulated by ombudsmen and other administrative investigators across Canada and around the world.
In the past five years, the office has conducted some two dozen special investigations and handled more than 90,000 complaints. It also assumed responsibility for investigating complaints about closed municipal meetings in 2008, and has consistently come in under its $10-million budget, returning $375,000 to taxpayers over five years.
Mr. Marin’s appointment was announced in the Legislature today. He will release his Annual Report on June 15, immediately after tabling it with the Legislature. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Ombudsman’s Office, established in 1975. Mr. Marin is the sixth Ombudsman and the first to be reappointed.
-30-
Source: Ombudsman Ontario website
