FAQs

An Ombudsperson is an independent and impartial official, independent of government, who receives and may investigates complaints about unfair government administration.

Sandy Hermiston is the Ombudsperson of BC. Learn more

Ombudsperson staff receive approximately 8,000 enquiries and complaints each year about local and provincial bodies in BC. The office also investigates allegations of wrongdoing and reprisal from current and former public service employees covered under the Public Interest Disclosure Act.

BC has eight independent offices of the Legislative Assembly. To ensure their independence and impartiality, these offices do not report directly to government or a specific minister but rather report to the Legislative Assembly.

If you would like to learn more about what we do and how we can help, please contact us. We would be pleased to meet with you and your staff.

Digital brochures are available on our website. If you prefer to order brochures by mail, please contact us. Let us know your preferred language, the number of copies, and the name and address of your organization.

Our services are free and confidential.

AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini can sometimes help people organize their thoughts or communicate more clearly. However, these tools can also provide inaccurate or misleading information, include unnecessary details, or generate information that is simply wrong. For example, they may misunderstand what our office does, who we oversee, or refer to laws and processes from other provinces or countries.

To help us understand and review your complaint as efficiently as possible, it’s important that the information you provide is clear, concise, and accurate. Using your own words whenever possible helps us better understand your concerns, the impact they’ve had, and how we may be able to help.

AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini can sometimes help people organize their thoughts or communicate more clearly. However, these tools can also provide inaccurate or misleading information, misunderstand what our office does, or refer to laws, policies, or complaint processes from other provinces or countries.

If you choose to respond to an assessment of your complaint, it is most helpful to provide clear, factual information that directly relates to your situation and our office’s role. Information generated by AI tools may not accurately reflect the laws, policies, or processes that apply to your complaint.

Our office reviews and assesses complaints based on the specific facts of each case, the applicable legislation and policies, and our jurisdiction. Information generated by AI tools may not accurately reflect those factors.

We receive and investigate complaints about administrative unfairness. When we talk about fairness, we are referring to administrative fairness. It means people should experience fair processes, fair decisions, and fair service when they interact with public organizations.

A fair process provides people with the opportunity to be heard and includes clear communication and impartial decision-making.
A fair decision follows the law, is based on relevant information, and considers individual circumstances.
Fair service means people are treated with dignity and respect and can access services and complaint processes that respond to their needs.

Yes, we do not oversee organizations, such as:

– Federal government
– Police (federal or municipal)
– First Nations governments

To find out if we can receive your complaint, visit our complaint checker.

Resolving complaints directly with the public organization involved, is usually the most efficient and effective way of resolving complaints. 

To find out how to make your complaint, visit our complaint checker.

We will respond to your complaint as quickly as possible. Depending on the nature of your concern, we may be able to provide the answers you need right away, or if your complaint requires extensive investigation, gathering and analyzing the information we need to determine what happened could take several months.

Learn more about our process.

The Ombudsperson is an office of last resort. Before coming to us, make your complaint through the organization’s internal complaint process. Dealing with the organization directly can often resolve issues more efficiently and effectively.

If you have tried to resolve the issue, please reach out to us. We may be able to help.

Try to have the following information ready:

– the organization your complaint is about
– who you have contacted and when (names, titles, and contact information is ideal)
– specific details about your complaint and why you think you’ve been treated unfairly
– what you have done to try to resolve the issue
– the outcome you hope for

If we investigate and find that the public organization has acted unfairly, some common outcomes include:

– Reimbursement of expenses
– Access to a benefit previously denied
– A clearer explanation on how or why a decision was made
– An apology
– A change to a policy or procedure

Yes. The Ombudsperson’s powers and jurisdiction are set out in the Ombudsperson Act and the Public Interest Disclosure Act. The Ombudsperson can choose not to pursue a complaint based on factors such as:

– whether the issue is still current
– alternative remedies exist
– the matter involves public policy, not administrative issues
– the complaint is frivolous or vexatious, etc.

When the Ombudsperson’s recommendations are accepted, the public organization is asked to report back on its progress in implementing them. We monitor this progress and publicly publish status updates.

We take complaints seriously and aim to address any areas where we have not delivered to the standards we expect of ourselves. We value complaints and continuously strive to improve our services. Follow these steps to make a complaint about our service:

1. If you have concerns about a decision we made or the service we are providing, try to resolve the matter with the person who made the decision or who did not meet your service expectation. This is the fastest and most efficient way to resolve most concerns.

2. Make a formal complaint. The formal complaint process is available after we have completed our assessment or investigation. We do not accept formal complaints while our work is ongoing – if you have concerns during this time, please contact the person handling your file.

Complaints about our service must be made within 45 days of a completed assessment or investigation. If you cannot make your complaint this time frame, or need help completing the complaint form, please call us: 1-800-567-3247

You can submit your completed complaint form by:

Mail: BC Ombudsperson. PO Box 9039 Stn Prov Govt., Victoria, BC V8W 9A5
Email: mail@bcombudsperson.ca. Please include your file number in the subject line and attach your complaint form.

PIDA prohibits reprisal against employees who seek advice, report wrongdoing, or cooperate with an investigation. Reprisal can include demotion, disciplinary measures, termination of employment or any measure that adversely affects an employee’s employment or working conditions.

Employees can make a reprisal report to the Ombudsperson if they experience reprisal.

The law requires that personal information and identity will be kept confidential to the extent possible. Our investigations are conductive privately and the identity of the person who made the report will not be included in the report.

The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act provides that investigative records of the Ombudsperson are exempt from disclosure. This means that members of the public cannot access the office’s records that relate to a report of wrongdoing or reprisal complaint through a freedom of information request.

Wrongdoing is conduct that occurs in or relating to a ministry, government body or office of the legislature that is:

– a serious act or failure to act that, if proven, would be an offence under the laws of BC or Canada;
– an act or failure to act that creates a substantial and specific danger to the life, health or safety of persons, or to the environment, other than a danger that is inherent in the performance of an employee’s duties or functions;
– a serious misuse of public funds or public assets;
gross or systemic mismanagement; or
– knowingly directing or counselling a person to commit wrongdoing described above.

Not all misconduct is wrongdoing under PIDA. For example, minor or isolated transgressions may not meet the seriousness threshold in the definition of wrongdoing. Furthermore, disagreements about policy or human resource disputes involving purely personal interests are unlikely to qualify as wrongdoing.

If you want to discuss your concerns or learn more about the investigation process, contact our office to speak with an investigator.

Yes. You can seek advice from your supervisor, your designated officer, a lawyer, your union representative, or the Ombudsperson. Under PIDA, you are protected from reprisal when asking for advice.

Any current or former public service employee covered under the act.

Employees can report wrongdoing that happened in the past, is currently happening or that they believe is about to happen. An employee can report wrongdoing regardless of whether they are a permanent, temporary, casual, part-time, or full-time employee.

Former employees can only report wrongdoing that was discovered, or that occurred, while they were employed.

Contractors are protected from reprisal. PIDA prohibits: cancelling contracts, withholding payment, or refusing to enter into future contracts because a contractor or their employees cooperated with an investigation. The Ombudsperson cannot investigate complaints of reprisal from contractors. Contractors who believe that they have experienced reprisal may wish to seek legal advice.

Yes. PIDA does not have any time restrictions. However, it may not be possible to investigate wrongdoing if evidence or witnesses are no longer available.

Employees can report wrongdoing:

1. to your supervisor or the designated officer in your workplace
2. to the BC Ombudsperson

Employees can choose where to report wrongdoing. Employees do not have to exhaust other options before coming to the Ombudsperson.

In most circumstances, PIDA does not cover reports of wrongdoing to the media. However, if an employee believes that there is an imminent, substantial, and specific danger to people or the environment, and the employee has consulted with and obtained consent from an appropriate protection official, an employee can make a public disclosure.

Protection officials are:

– the provincial health officer (for a health-related matter);
– the provincial administrator as defined in section 1 (1) of the Emergency and Disaster Management Act
– the police, for any other matter.

No. Employees can report wrongdoing without first raising their concerns with their supervisor or employer.

PIDA allows employees to share otherwise confidential information for the purpose of reporting wrongdoing, except information that is protected by solicitor-client privilege or another rule of privilege. Reporting wrongdoing in good faith is consistent with the employee’s oath of employment.

Yes, employees can report wrongdoing anonymously. We may investigate anonymous reports if there is enough information for the allegations of wrongdoing to be properly assessed.

We encourage employees who fear identifying themselves to contact our office to discuss our investigation process and the protections that the Act provides. That contact may be anonymous if you prefer.

We will contact you to get more information about your report. Your report will be assessed to determine whether it is eligible for investigation, and whether an investigation should proceed.

Each issue brought forward to our office will be assessed on its merits to determine if an investigation will be conducted.

You will be notified if we decide to investigate your report. If we decide not to investigate your report, we will provide you with reasons for our decision.

At the end of an investigation, the Ombudsperson will provide a report to the chief executive of the public organization. The report will set out our findings, including any recommendations for corrective measures. We will monitor the implementation of any recommendations made.

If the Ombudsperson does not find that wrongdoing took place, the employee who made the report is still protected from reprisal.

The employee who made the report will receive a summary of the outcome of the investigation.

PIDA prohibits reprisal against employees who co-operate with an investigation. If an employee experiences reprisal because they cooperated with an investigation, they can report it to our office.

Administrative fairness is the standard of conduct people can expect from government organizations. It is the expectation that public organizations will act reasonably when delivering their programs and services, and in a manner that is consistent with relevant policies, procedures, and laws. It also means that public organizations follow fair and transparent decision making processes, and explain reasons for decisions to those affected.

Public service staff including managers, team leaders, complaint handlers, and front line staff who have an interest in learning about administrative fairness in public service delivery are welcome to join our workshops.