OCR Annual Digest 2019-2020

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 December 2020 The Honourable Sco Reid Speaker House of Assembly Confedera on 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 ci zens of Newfoundland and Labrador the Annual Ci zens’ Representa ve Digest. It provides sta s cs on complaints received, and describes the day-to-day work of this Offi ce of the House of Assembly during the period April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020. Respec ully submi ed, Bradley J. Moss Ci zens’ Representa ve Our Mission Statement Through inves ga on and media on, the Offi ce of the Ci zens’ Representa ve strives to achieve high standards of trust in, and accountability by, the Public Service of Newfoundland and Labrador. Our services are independent, impar al and free. Seeking fairness... finding solutions C ONTENTS 1 Message from the Ciঞ zens’ Representaঞ ve 2 Our Role 5 The Complaint Process 6 A Month in Review 8 Public Interest Disclosure 9 Individual Case Summaries 25 Staঞ sঞ cs 29 Organizaঞ onal Chart 30 How to Reach Us 1 Message from the Citizens’ Representative In my last Digest, situa on the team pulled together; pivoted when I reported on the necessary and we persevered, while simultaneously successes achieved delivering our core mandate services to hundreds of during the fi nal Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and coming in year of offi ce of under budget. my predecessor, Barry Fleming, QC. Working in complaints management involves daily With only a short interac on with people who are in varying stages me on the job, I between minor aggrava on and full blown personal was s ll adjus ng crises. When the phone rings you never expect it to to my new role. be a person who is going to tell you just how great As the former things are going. Over me it can be stressful and Deputy, there like many professions, very diffi cult not to take home were things that with you. I’d “always done” that I would have to delegate in order to concentrate But complaints fall within the role of our offi ce, on my new du es. But my promo on meant I had and the staff believe in our mandate as much as I to recruit a new Deputy, who had a very short do. They work hard to prosecute it every day and runway to depart from, and not a lot of me to together, we talk these problems out and do our best get up to al tude. A er a PSC / House of Assembly to ensure everyone’s doing ok in terms of processing compe on, I was happy to appoint Sharon Samson, what comes before them in the course of their work. MSW, to the job. Sharon was a Senior Inves gator It is a blessing to be surrounded 100% by highly at the OCR who had over a decade of experience competent, professional, sensible people, and I thank in OCR inves ga ons, and prior to that, complaint Sharon Samson, Michele Lédévehat, Michael Sooley, management roles at the Human Rights Commission Lorraine Holden, and Jocelyn Walsh for suppor ng and the former Department of Human Resources, me, together with our new employees, Rebecca Labour and Employment. Together with the staff , we French and Karen Chaisson, who joined the OCR this plunged into a year that included an expansion of our year. Finally, welcome back Juanita Dwyer, who spent mandate into inves ga ng harassment issues at the a year prac cing social work here in the St. John’s House of Assembly, addi onal hiring, a fairly large area before resuming her fi een year career here at public interest disclosure inves ga on, a massive the OCR. landlord-funded interior renova on, my fi rst budget, a one in 100 year snowstorm that closed the city Thank you for taking the me to read this report. It for two weeks, and the onset of a global pandemic highlights our progress and ac vi es during a busy and associated provincial lockdown. Any of these year for our Offi ce. I hope you fi nd it interes ng and issues can cause problems in isola on; but in every informa ve. Annual Digest 2019-2020 2 Our Role For over 50 years, Canadian provinces, Eff ec ve April 1, 2020, the OCR became universi es and colleges, and the federal responsible for receiving complaints from government have relied on ombudsman employees under the Harassment-Free services to mediate and inves gate Workplace Policy Applicable to Complaints complaints about public bodies. In 2020, Against Members of the House of Assembly. Canada con nues to be an ac ve player Complaints under this policy can be on the forefront of the evolu on of the brought forward by another Member of ombudsman concept, as it expands further the House of Assembly, or an employee of into the public and private sector. the legisla ve, or execu ve branch of the Provincial Government. It is the role of the The Offi ce of the Ci zens’ Representa ve OCR in this capacity to provide informa on (OCR) opened in St. John’s in February 2002. and supports to employees to address The OCR serves the public, and the House allega ons of harassment and, where of Assembly, in the classical parliamentary an employee requests, inves gate these ombudsman role. In 2007, our mandate allega ons and report its fi ndings to the expanded with the passage of the House House of Assembly. of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and AdministraƟ on Act. Under part VI of that As a non-par san Statutory Offi ce, the Act, we are tasked with the inves ga on of OCR inves gates public bodies based on public interest disclosures of wrongdoing complaints received from: made by members and staff of the House of Assembly. • ci zens; • whistleblowers; Since 2014, the OCR has also been • employees of the legisla ve and responsible for the government-wide execu ve branch; public interest disclosure program. Under • Members of the House of Assembly; the Public Interest Disclosure and and, Whistleblower ProtecƟ on Act, (PIDA), • the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council. governmentg employees have the right to confi den ally discloseo wrongdoingdooing in UnderUnder ititss prprimaryimary mandate, the CiƟ zens’ their workplace that should be stopped RepresentaƟ ve Act, the OCR provides an or corrected in the public interest. The ombudsman service to ci zens who interact PIDA imposes penal es on anyone who with the Government of Newfoundland and commits a reprisal against persons who Labrador. Ci zens who access, or a empt make disclosures, or who seek advice to access any Provincial Government on the commission of wrongdoing in the services under line departments or public service. Previous reports rela ng agencies, boards or corpora ons, o en to PIDA can be found on our website: reach out to the OCR as they navigate www.ci zensrep.nl.ca. government and various administra ve processes. Annual Digest 2019-2020 3 The case summaries within this digest will demonstrate examples of the following types of services provided to ci zens. Inquiry - Early Resolution Often, citizens’ complaints can be resolved through mediation or facilitation, when investigation is not required to resolve, at best, or provide reasons why a matter cannot be resolved to the citizens’ satisfaction, at least. Public bodies provide the OCR with open lines of communication in the interest of early resolution or settlement of complaints. Investigation Citizens’ complaints sometimes require formal investigation The OCR where there exists a prima facie appearance of unfairness. Formal investigations can, where unfairness is identified, engages with result in recommendations to settle the complaint for the citizens to citizen. Alternately, where it has been found that the department and/or agency has afforded adequate determine how administrative fairness, the OCR endeavours to provide best to resolve sound reasoning to the citizen for such findings. a particular The Ci zens’ Representa ve is also empowered to launch inves ga ons in his or her own discre on, without a specifi c matter of named complainant. administration. Navigation, Self-Advocacy and Referral Citizens contact the OCR from all walks of life and with a wide range of interpersonal skills and knowledge. Where appropriate, the OCR will provide support to citizens by referring them to available appeal mechanisms or the appropriate program within government to address their complaints. Sometimes, citizens may prefer to address concerns on their own, but require direction and information to support their self-advocacy. In situations where citizens’ complaints are non-jurisdictional, the OCR will refer the complainants to the appropriate agency to deal with their concerns. In these situations, the OCR can often link the citizens directly with the person(s) they need to speak with or provide forms, telephone numbers, internet links and email addresses to individuals who need alternate avenues of redress. Annual Digest 2019-2020 4 There are a number of statutory restric ons on the OCR’s jurisdic on. These are set out in Sec on 19 of the CiƟ zens’ RepresentaƟ ve Act and include: ■ the House of Assembly or a commi ee thereof; ■ the Lieutenant Governor in Council; ■ Execu ve Council and its various divisions; 1 ■ The court, the members of the judiciary, masters of the court, and jus ces of the peace; ■ awards, decisions, recommenda ons or omissions of arbitrators made pursuant to the ArbitraƟ on Act; ■ ma ers in respect of which there are exis ng rights of appeal or objec on under another Act un l such me as these rights are exhausted or the me to appeal has expired; ■ refusals to provide access to informa on under the Access to InformaƟ on and ProtecƟ on of Privacy Act, 2015; ■ ma ers falling within the jurisdic on of the Offi ce of the Child and Youth Advocate; and, ■ certain ma ers rela ng to the administra on of the Personal Health InformaƟ on Act or a ma er falling within a Commissioner’s purview under that Act.

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