OCR Annual Digest 2017-2018 Sept 4 .Indd
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Offi ce of the Citizens’ Representative Province of Newfoundland and Labrador 4th Floor, Beothuck Building, 20 Crosbie Place, P.O. Box 8400, St. John’s, NL A1B 3N7 Telephone: (709) 729-7647 Toll Free: 1-800-559-0079 Facsimile: (709) 729-7696 Email: [email protected] Website: www.citizensrep.nl.ca September, 2018 The Honourable Perry Trimper Speaker House of Assembly Confederation Building P.O. Box 8700 St. John’s, NL A1B 4J6 Dear Mr. Speaker: It is my privilege to submit to the House of Assembly and the citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador the Annual Citizens’ Representative Digest. It provides statistics on complaints received, and describes the day-to-day work of this Offi ce of the House of Assembly during the period April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018. Respectfully submitt ed, Barry Fleming, Q.C. Citizens’ Representative Table of Contents Message from the Citizens’ Representative .........................................................................1 Our Role. ...................................................................................................................................2 The Complaint Process. ...........................................................................................................4 A Month in Review ..................................................................................................................5 Public Interest Disclosure .......................................................................................................7 Individual Case Summaries ...................................................................................................8 NL Human Rights Commission “Take it to the Limit” ....................................................................................................8 Eastern Regional Services Board “Exemption Frustration” .............................................................................................8 “Bulk Pick-up or Illegal Dumping?” ............................................................................9 “An Invoice Without Structure” .................................................................................10 WorkplaceNL “Shutt le Diplomacy” .....................................................................................................10 “Back on the Radar” ......................................................................................................10 Newfoundland and Labrador Housing “Communication and Documentation is Key” .............................................................11 “In Need of Some Space” ...............................................................................................12 Service NL “Compliance Ensured” ..................................................................................................12 “Permission Granted” ...................................................................................................13 Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour “Department vs. Apartment” ........................................................................................13 “Simple Misunderstanding” .........................................................................................14 Department of Justice and Public Safety; Adult Corrections “Use of Force Review” ...................................................................................................14 “Is Help Needed?” .........................................................................................................16 Offi ce of the Citizens’ Representative Annual Digest 2017 - 2018 i Table of Contents (Cont’d) Department of Justice and Public Safety; Support Enforcement Division “Opening Lines of Communication” ............................................................................... 17 Eastern Health/Department of Health and Community Services “Find the Time to Put it Online” .................................................................................... 17 Eastern Health “A Mother’s Love” .......................................................................................................... 18 Department of Health and Community Services; Medical Transportation Assistance Program (MTAP) “Improve the Map for MTAP” ...................................................................................... 19 Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development “Termination Frustration” ............................................................................................ 20 Public Procurement Agency “Specifi cation Frustration” ............................................................................................ 21 Memorial University of Newfoundland “Continuation Irritation” .............................................................................................. 21 Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation “Too Close for Comfort” .................................................................................................. 22 Statistics ................................................................................................................................. 24 Complaints/Inquiries by Department and Agency ................................................24 Complaints/Inquiries by Electoral District ..............................................................25 Complaints/Inquiries Non-Jurisdictional ...............................................................26 Organizational Chart ........................................................................................................... 27 How to Reach Us .................................................................................................................. 28 Offi ce of the Citizens’ Representative Annual Digest 2017 - 2018 ii Message from the Citizens’ Representative his is the eleventh Annual Digest of the Understandably, citizens are frustrated whenever TOffi ce of the Citizens’ Representative. In they have to pay an additional fee. This has contrast to our formal reporting obligations generated considerable controversy and hostility under the Accountability and Transparency Act, towards the ERSB. Unfortunately, ERSB’s the Digest is an informal overview of the work approach has not helped mitigate that hostility. we undertake. Complaint handling in a government context is During the year, we continued to act as a public incredibly important as, if done effectively, it interest disclosure (whistleblower) investigator can bring fi nality to complaints in a non-litigious and as a general ombudsman service. Citizens format and provide valuable feedback on the often ask what types of things does an public body’s programs and services. We have ombudsman do? For a look at the many and made recommendations to ERSB on ways to varied issues we address, take a look at the improve its customer-handling work, including: Digest’s Month in Review on page 5. training frontline staff on respectful and open communication with citizens; providing A major focus of our ombudsman work over the citizens with all information which may affect past year has been dealing with complaints and their services or exempt them from fees; and inquiries against the Eastern Regional Services establish a clear complaint resolution protocol. Board (ERSB). The ERSB was created by the Implementation of these recommendations Province to deliver regional municipal services. may mitigate some of the hostility the ERSB In 2009, the ERSB was given a mandate to currently faces. ensure the effi cient delivery of modern waste management services throughout communities As this is my last Annual Digest, I would like in the Eastern Region of Newfoundland and to take the opportunity to acknowledge the Labrador. This entails being responsible for tremendous work and character of my staff. I curbside/roadside collection of garbage and have been fortunate over the past twelve years recyclables, waste recovery facilities, bulk items to work with some great people, but the current pick-up, and household hazardous waste events. composition of staff is outstanding. They each We received jurisdiction over the ERSB on bring empathy, skill and good humor to every March 21, 2017. task. Their creativity and collegiality enlivens all that we do. I will miss them. But rest The ERSB charges a fee for the services it assured, they will continue to seek fairness and provides on a cost recovery basis. We have fi nd solutions for the citizens they serve. reviewed the mechanisms by which ERSB calculates its fees and they are consistent with a cost recovery model. It is not our role to second guess or dictate specifi cally how and when fees Barry Fleming, Q.C. are charged. That is the purview of the House of Citizens’ Representative Assembly and/or the Board of the ERSB. Offi ce of the Citizens’ Representative Annual Digest 2017 - 2018 1 Our Role or over 50 years, Canadian provinces, universities and colleges and the federal Fgovernment have relied on ombudsman services to mediate and investigate complaints about public bodies. In 2018, Canada continues to be an active player on the forefront of the evolution of the ombudsman concept, as it expands further into the private sector. Our Offi ce opened in St. John’s in February 2002. We serve the public, and the House of Assembly, in the classical parliamentary ombudsman role. In 2007, our mandate expanded with the passage of the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act. Under Part VI of that Act. We are tasked with the investigation of public interest disclosures