Released on May 1, 1996
Barbara Tomkins, Saskatchewan's Provincial Ombudsman, tabled her annualreport for 1995 in the legislature today.
Tomkins reports 1,841 complaints received and 1,863 investigations
completed during 1995. Of those, 74 per cent were found to be not
substantiated; the remaining 26 per cent were either substantiated or
resolved by government. Where Tomkins made tentative or final
recommendations, 90 per cent were accepted and implemented by
government.
Tomkins calls for the establishment of an all-party committee of the
legislature to oversee administrative matters relating to the office.
"The Ombudsman and Children's Advocate Act clearly gives the
legislature responsibility to oversee this office yet workable
mechanisms are not in place to allow it to do so," she says. Tomkins
said that in the absence of such mechanisms, it falls to government to
administer the legislation, a situation which she says compromises the
office's independence from government. Tomkins says that each of her
predecessors has called for such a committee, if only to address the
budget process currently in place.
The ombudsman draws attention to the fact that reductions in the public
service may have affected program delivery. She indicates that, in her
view, public servants are "trying hard with limited resources." She
cautions that this does not relieve government or government employees
from administering programs and policies in a manner which is fair,
reasonable and courteous. She recognizes the efforts of the public
service in acknowledging by name some of the employees who have
provided exceptional service in specific instances.
The report includes the ombudsman's detailed observations on these and
other issues as well as providing a representative sample of cases
which the office has handled in the past year.
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For more information, contact:
Barbara J. Tomkins
c/o Debra Trembley
150-2401 Saskatchewan Drive
Regina
Phone: (306) 787-6211
1-800-667-7180 (toll-free)
(306) 787-9090 (fax)