Accountability in Ontario

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Published: 20 November 2015

On January 1, 2016, citizens of Ontario will finally be able to bring their municipal complaints to their provincial Ombudsman. This will mark the start of a new era of accountability at the local level. The passage of Bill 8 - the Public Sector and MPP Accountability Act, 2014 - opens the broader public sector to independent oversight for the first time. Complaints about the so called "MUSH" sector ( municipalities, universities, school boards, hospitals, long-term care, police and children aid societies.) have remained outside the office's jurisdiction since Ontario's first Ombudsman, these bodies have important decision- making powers and take actions which affect the lives of all of us. Since 2005 alone the Ombudsman office has had to turn away more than 24,000 " MUCH " complaints. More than 10,500 of those were about municipalities, making them the most complained- about area of the sector so far. Complaints about municipalities ran the gamut from garbage collection and snow removal to conflict of interest and the conduct of council members. Many citizens expressed the view that they had nowhere else to turn for independent review of their local concerns. As of January 1, that will change.

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Without Prejudice - Has Mayor Lovshin landed Council in hot water?

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Published: 31 July 2015

• Mayor Mark Lovshin of Hamilton Township potentially illegally fired the Director of Public Works and infrastructure on March 31, 2015.
• The Mayor did this without any by-law from Council therefore, it was (and still is) a potentially illegal problem that Council is involved in.
• This meant that there was no designated staff in charge of the water service for some time following the Mayor’s actions. The supervisor who is currently responsible for the water systems right now (Mr. Paul Heffernan) is not licensed to do it.

Read more: Without Prejudice - Has Mayor Lovshin landed Council in hot water?