NCJ Number
69587
Date Published
1980
Length
44 pages
Annotation
The activities of the Ombudsman of the Canadian Province of New Brunswick are reported for the calendar year 1979.
Abstract
According to Canadian statutes, the Ombudsman functions as an independent, high-level public official who is responsible to the legislature, receives complaints from private parties against government agencies and employees, and has the power to conduct investigations and recommend corrective action. In 1979, the Ombudsman's office received a total of 1,199 complaints, a decline of 124 grievances from 1978. Three recommendations previously made by the Office were implemented: the creation of a citizen inquiry service, an increase in Silicosis compensation pensions, and the amelioration of pension benefits of persons who joined the public service from other public bodies under the Program of Equal Opportunity. Other 1979 highlights include the hosting of the Sixth Annual Conference of Canadian Legislative Ombudsmen in Fredericton (September 23-26, 1979), assumption of new responsibilities as an appeal mechanism under the Right to Information Act, and visits to provincial penal institutions to meet directly with inmates and review their grievances. Complaints and summaries of complaints received by the Office, a budgetary review, statistical charts on complaints received, and the Canadian Ombudsman Act are appended. The volume also contains a French version of the report.