Victoria – Provincial Ombudsperson Kim Carter released her 2009/10 annual report today, noting that the more than 60 case summaries it contains show the positive difference her office makes for individuals as well as its broader contribution to improving public services and programs.

As a result of the office’s work in 2009/10:

• A woman with a digestive disorder who was about to undergo hand surgery for a work-related injury got the post-operative care she needed in order to stay properly fed (page 56).
• Community Living BC agreed to pay almost $2,000 to cover the costs of physiotherapy for a disabled boy (page 26).
• The BC Human Rights Tribunal agreed to provide its information sheets and guides in an audio format in order to better serve people with visual impairments (page 62).
• BC Hydro agreed that a condominium owner was eligible for a rebate on his energy-efficient freezer even though he paid his hydro bill through his strata corporation (page 44).
• The Residential Tenancy Branch improved its service to people involved in tenancy disputes by developing a fact sheet on options and deadlines for requesting reviews of its decisions (page 42).
• The Patient Care Quality Review Board Secretariat agreed that all review boards would give written reasons for their decisions about the investigation of care quality complaints, even when they decide not to make any recommendations for change (page 41).
• A man who had recently immigrated to Canada received a bigger safe driving discount after our office asked ICBC to take another look at his foreign insurance records (page 31).
• ICBC agreed to reissue a payment to a woman whose difficulties with English contributed to her failure to cash its cheque before it expired (page 30).

Ms. Carter also reflected in the report on the 30 years of service her office marked in October 2009.

“In our first 30 years, we helped many thousands of British Columbians obtain fair treatment and hundreds of provincial and local agencies better serve the public. We will continue to uphold, promote and foster fairness in public administration as we move into our next decade,” Ms. Carter said.

The number of complaints and enquiries the ombudsperson’s office handled in 2009/10 grew to 8,344, an increase of five per cent over 2008/09.

The Ombudsperson’s mandate is to ensure that public administration in B.C. is fair, transparent and accountable. The public bodies over which the Ombudsperson has jurisdiction include provincial ministries, health authorities, Crown corporations, colleges and universities, local governments, boards of education and self-regulating professions.