The Office of the Ombudsman has been established to review the fairness of the administrative actions and decisions of the Provincial Government and its agencies. It does not take part in the political process of debating government legislative policy. It is independent of government, and reports to the Legislature as a whole, or directly to the public. It investigates complaints from individuals, and also initiates its own investigations into individual incidents of suspected unfairness or systemic problems in public administration. It has a preventative responsibility to recommend changes in administrative policy which may cause unfairness in the future, as well as having the role of recommending remedies for individuals who have already been treated unfairly. However, the Ombudsman’s office has no power to order change – it can only make recommendations.

The recommendations in this Public Report are for a fair and effective administrative policy dealing with public access to government information and privacy of personal information. The principles set out are the standard by which the Ombudsman’s Office considers complaints from the public concerning government practices in this area. Because of the wide scope of government activity, directly through provincial ministries and indirectly through various independent provincial boards, commissions, Crown corporations and private contractors delivering public services, the principles must be adapted to meet the special circumstances of each agency’s role.