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Citizens

The Montreal Ombudsman

The word ombudsman comes to us from Swedish, combining ombud (delegate, who speaks in the name of) and man (person). In Quebec, the expressions “protecteur du citoyen” or “protector of citizens” are also used.

The origins of the role of the ombudsman reach back to ancient times, but the ombudsman concept grew in popularity during the twentieth century, first in Scandinavia and then in the rest of the world.

In 1967, Alberta and New Brunswick became the first Canadian provinces to create ombudsman positions. Most other provinces created ombudsman positions starting in the 1970s.

Having an ombudsman in an organisation can help to establish some balance between citizens and bureaucracies. A desire to make the city adminstration more efficient and transparent inspired the City of Montréal to create the office of the Ombudsman de Montréal in 2002.

In this Infosheet, Éducaloi explains the role and functions of the Montreal Ombudsman.

What is an ombudsman?

Over time, people have developed mechanisms to resolve disagreements and conflicts. Laws, courts, and the police, the origins of which trace far back in history, are some of the tools that have been created in order to attempt to lessen conflicts and prevent the outbreak of wars.

These mechanisms, which have since become well known institutions, affect large spheres of activity. Almost all activities undertaken by people are covered by rules applied by public or private administrators. In the event of disagreement, courts have the power to define the law and to decide who is right and who is wrong.

Obviously, certain situations escape ordinary control and some citizens find themselves with problems for which no easy solution can be found. Ombudsmen were created in order to find solutions to these impossible situations that “fall through the cracks” of the system.

Are there many types of ombudsmen?

There are many different types of ombudsmen, all of which exercise fairly similar functions. Despite a few differences, all ombudsmen share certain characteristics. First of all, the function of the ombudsman is independent from the administration and the management of the organisation or the government. The ombudsman must also be non-political. As well, all ombudsmen have powers to investigate and to recommend with respect to the acts or decisions of the public, para-public or private organisation within which they exercise their functions.

The work of the ombudsman generally begins when a person files a complaint about the functioning of the organisation or the acts and decisions of one or many of its representatives or employees. After a neutral and impartial investigation, she evaluates whether, in her opinion, the complaint is reasonable. If she finds the complaint to be reasonable, she intervenes in order to find an amicable solution or she makes recommendations to resolve the situation. Ombudsmen often play the role of mediator or conciliator.

Ombudsmen are found not only in government but also in certain public companies, in organisations offering services to the public (such as banks and universities) or even in private companies. For example, in Quebec, citizens can go to the “Protecteur du Citoyen”  (http://www.protecteurducitoyen.qc.ca/en/index.asp ) (“Protector of Citizens”) if they feel that they have been improperly treated by a ministry or a public organisation of the Government of Quebec.

What is the Ombudsman de Montréal?

The Ombudsman de Montréal is appointed by the Council of the City of Montréal, which is composed of the Mayor and City Councillors representing all of the boroughs.

The person appointed as the Ombudsman occupies this position for four years. A person can only be appointed as Ombudsman twice in her life, which means for a total of 8 years.

The Ombudsman depends upon a team of employees in order to be able to properly carry out her duties. She is assisted in particular by an assistant ombudsman and a team of investigators. The Ombudsman de Montréal is neutral, non-political and independent. This means that she is independent from the City administration and that she is not linked to any municipal political party.

What are the functions of the Ombudsman de Montréal?

The Ombudsman de Montréal deals with complaints (called "requests for intervention") from people or groups of people who feel that they have been unfairly treated by the City or who believe that their municipal rights have not been respected. The City and the Executive Committee of the City or of a Borough may also request the intervention of the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman may also decide herself to intervene in a particular situation without having been asked to do so.

Once the Ombudsman has been asked to intervene, she or a member of her team ensures that they understand the situation clearly, and, as necessary, they take time to listen to the person who filed the complaint. If it seems that the citizen has good reasons to request the intervention, the Ombudsman will carry out an investigation. If the investigation shows that the citizen has been unfairly treated, the Ombudsman will try to resolve the situation through an amicable agreement or, if an agreement is impossible, will make recommendations to the City. At any phase of her intervention, if the Ombudsman judges that the complaint is unfounded or in bad faith, she may dismiss it.

Once the Ombudsman ceases or refuses to intervene in a file, she must inform, in writing, the person who requested her intervention and she must explain why she stopped her intervention.

Every year, the Ombudsman prepares a report in which she describes her activities. This report is given to the City Council.

What are the powers of the Ombudsman de Montréal?

The Ombudsman has two main powers: the power to investigate a situation and the power to make recommendations to correct a situation that she finds unfair. However, the Ombudsman does not have decision-making powers.

When she carries out an investigation, the Ombudsman or an authorized member of her team may consult and get copies of all relevant documents and may require that all information necessary to dealing with the request for intervention be provided to them. Before starting the investigation, the Ombudsman must inform the Department Director or Borough Manager concerned by the complaint as well as the General Manager of the City. She must also allow the person concerned by the request for intervention or the relevant Department Director to explain himself and to resolve the situation.

Once the intervention is complete, the Ombudsman writes a report which is sent to the person who requested the intervention as well as to the City General Manager and the relevant Department Director or Borough Manager.

The Ombudsman may also make recommendations which may resolve the situation or prevent it from happening again. She may require City officials to write her a report, within a certain deadline, about the solutions found to resolve the situation. This process reflects the spirit within which the Ombudsman exercises her functions: the Ombudsman focuses on improving the City’s services rather than on identifying people as guilty or liable.

The Ombudsman does not always have to make formal recommendations as very often situations solve themselves during an intervention or after the investigation. Thanks to the Ombudsman’s intervention, City officials may very well realise, without things needing to go any further, that there is a problem or that improvements can be made to resolve the situation.

In what situations is the Ombudsman de Montréal able to intervene?

First of all, the Ombudsman can intervene with respect to acts and decisions of the City but only as a last resort, that is to say that a person must have exhausted internal administrative recourses before calling upon the Ombudsman.

‘City’ here means:

• The City of Montréal;
  
• The boroughs of the City of Montréal;
  
• Para-municipal agencies, such as the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (Montréal’s municipal housing office), Stationnement Montréal (which oversees parking in Montréal) or la Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau;
  
• Companies for which the City appoints 50% or more of the members of the board of directors;
  
• Persons carrying out work for the City (such as a contractor doing snow removal).

Generally, the Ombudsman will refuse to intervene if legal proceedings have been started or if such proceedings would be likely to resolve the situation. For example, imagine that a person believes that they have been the victim of a fraud committed by an employee of the City acting in her official capacity. The Ombudsman would not intervene in this case as the person could contact the police to complain. Also, the presumption of innocence requires that only a criminal court can declare someone to be guilty of a crime.

The Ombudsman has no power to intervene in acts or decisions:

• Related to employment relations (such as procedures for hiring or firing City employees);
  
• Of a peace officer of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (Montréal’s police service);
  
• Of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM; organisation responsible for transit in Montréal) or of its employees;
  
• Of committees or commissions of the City Council;
  
• Of elected municipal officials and their political personnel.

With respect to the City Council, the Executive Committee of the City or the Borough Councils, the Ombudsman de Montréal has the power to intervene but only when the Montréal Charter of Rights and Responsibilities applies. To find out more, read the Infosheet entitled Montréal Charter of Rights and Responsibilities  (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/loi/citizens/389/).

Can the Ombudsman de Montréal change a decision of the City?

As already mentioned, the Ombudsman de Montréal is not a court and therefore cannot impose her decisions on others. She only possesses a power to make recommendations. She can therefore suggest that the City make changes or change a situation but she cannot change a decision herself or force the City to do so.

Nevertheless, the Ombudsman has great moral authority. Basically, the City set up the office of the Ombudsman to make available a non-political and independent party who can listen to unsatisfied citizens who have been unable to resolve their municipal problems. The main purpose of the office of the Ombudsman is the improvement of municipal services offered to citizens. The great majority of the recommendations made by the Ombudsman are followed by the City.

What do I do before asking the Ombudsman de Montréal to intervene?

Remember first of all that the Ombudsman intervenes only as a last resort, meaning, where no other administrative solution can be implemented by the City. Therefore, before asking the Ombudsman to intervene, the citizen must first have submitted her case to the relevant Department Director or Borough Manager. To obtain contact information for the directors and managers, visit the website of the City of Montréal  (http://ville.montreal.qc.ca) or contact an Accès-Montréal office.

In order to obtain the desired solution, a citizen may also undertake other available administrative or legal recourses (go before a court). Certain recourses are easy to identify, such as filing a complaint with the police in case of fraud or filing a lawsuit to obtain compensation for damages. Other recourses might be more difficult to identify. If in doubt, it may be possible to obtain more information from the Ombudsman. Often, even if she cannot (or cannot yet) intervene, she may be able to direct a citizen towards possible solutions.

Is there a time limit within which I must act if I want to ask the Ombudsman de Montréal to intervene?

The Ombudsman cannot intervene, other than in certain exceptional cases, if the facts upon which the complaint is based have been known to the citizen for more than one year. It is therefore important not to wait too long before taking steps to resolve the situation.

How do I ask the Ombudsman de Montréal to intervene?

To make a complaint to the Ombudsman, you may make your request in writing, in person, by fax, by mail or by email. The Ombudsman provides a form which can be used to request her intervention. This form can be found directly at the office of the Ombudsman or can be downloaded from the website of the Ombudsman de Montréal  (http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/ombudsman).

To request the intervention of the Ombudsman, the person should identify themselves, summarize the situation about which they are complaining and provide any information that the Ombudsman may need to do her work.

If a person complains to the Ombudsman de Montréal, will their file remain confidential?

The information obtained by the Ombudsman during her intervention and investigation remains confidential except to the extent necessary to effectively handle the file.

It is important to remember that at the beginning of an investigation, the Ombudsman must notify the relevant director or manager as well as the City General Manager and that once the intervention is finished, these parties receive a copy of the final report containing the Ombudsman’s conclusions and reasoning. It is therefore almost inevitable that the City officials involved in the file will become aware of certain parts of the file. It is even likely that, based on this information, they will be able to determine the identity of the person who filed the complaint.

But, the administration and elected officials do not have access to the files of the Ombudsman de Montréal. The person who requests the intervention of the Ombudsman also does not have access to the information and documents that the Ombudsman obtains from the City.

It is possible that in certain cases, laws may permit access to some of the information in the possession of the Ombudsman. For more information, contact or visit the website of the Commission d'accès à l'information  (http://www.cai.gouv.qc.ca/index-en.html).