Gatineau Ombudsman received 28% more requests in 2023 according to their annual report
Sophie Demers
On April 23, Gatineau Ombudsman Maryline Caron presented the annual report to city council during the plenary committee meeting.
According to the report, there was a 28% increase in requests to the Ombudsman office in 2023. There were a total of 286 requests last year compared to 224 in 2022. Of the 2023 requests, 95% were processed in 30 days or less. There were three main categories of complaints: 54 complaints were made regarding the application of regulations, 22 were made concerning quality of work, and 28 focused on policies, administrative procedures, and standards.
The Urbanism and Sustainable Development service received 25% of the complaints, 16% were about public works, 10% of complaints were filed about Gatineau Police services, and 9% water and waste services. In 2023, municipal services gave 26 commitments of which 88% were achieved. The Ombudsman gave six recommendations to city General Management and nine recommendations were updated in 2023.
The recommendations included one to add a citizen consultation process as a mechanism to garner citizen participation and social acceptability to neighborhoods with dog parks. Another was to create a buffer zone to manage noise when dog parks do not comply with the 100-metre distance from residences. Additionally, one recommendation suggested the overhaul of the noise by-law and to instead comply with the World Health Organization's standards and best practices. There was a recommendation put forward requesting that the city administration evaluate the laws and policies regarding drones and video surveillance devices to improve efficiency of inspection when required.
The Ombudsman's mission is to mediate and handle complaints from citizens who feel dissatisfied or wronged by the municipal services with impartiality and neutrality. The Office of the Ombudsman has been working to make the process and information as accessible and easy as possible for residents.
Over the past year, the Office of the Ombudsman has worked to familiarize residents with their services as they noticed that a large portion of the population was unaware of this way of communicating with the city. For the first time this year, the Ombudsman created an abridged version of the annual report for citizens, making it easier to read and understand. The report was presented under the theme “The Ombudsman of Gatineau: Accessibility as a pillar for innovation.”
“Over the years, we have innovated in our way of communicating with the population through several projects, such as: interactive strategic planning based on citizens’ consultation, a discussion forum on Reddit platform, broadcasting an explanatory video, and the abridged version of the 2023 annual report,” said Ombudsman Caron. “These initiatives aim to stimulate the involvement and interest of citizens, by making information more accessible. They illustrate our commitment to modernization and continuous improvement of the services we offer to the population.”
For more information on the Ombudsman office visit their website: https://ombudsmangatineau.ca
Photo caption: Ombudsman de Gatineau, Maryline Caron, presenting the annual report 2023 during the April 23 plenary committee.
Photo credit: Screenshot by Sophie Demers