Victoria – Provincial Ombudsperson Kim Carter released her 2010/11 annual report today. More than 7,500 inquiries and complaints were received by the Ombudsperson Office in 2010/11. The Ministry of Social Development; the Ministry of Children and Family Development; the Ministry if Public Safety and Solicitor General; ICBC and WorkSafeBC were the five most significant provincial public authorities dealt with during the year. Health authority and local government complaints totalled 14 per cent of files closed during the year.

The complaints resolved in 2010/11 reported in the Annual Report include:

• Page 18 – The end to a delay in sending out a wage loss benefit cheque [Early Resolution/WorkSafeBC/Northern BC].
• Page 18 – A quick decision on a hearing impaired woman’s eligibility for disability benefits [Early Resolution/Ministry of Social Development/Northern BC].
• Page 25 – Improvements to the laundry schedule at a youth custody facility [Youth/Burnaby Secure Youth Custody Centre/Lower Mainland].
• Page 28 – Access to a learner’s permit to take professional driving lessons before being retested [Driving/Office of Superintendent of Motor Vehicles/Vancouver Island/Sunshine Coast].
• Page 28 – Timely access to a road test to demonstrate fitness to drive [Driving/Senior/Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles/Lower Mainland].
• Page 30 – Removal of record of driving prohibition resulting from ticket given to another person [Driving/Office of Superintendent of Motor Vehicles/Interior].
• Page 33 – Reimbursement for involuntary stay in residential care [Health/Senior/Vancouver Island Health Authority].
• Page 37 – Reimbursement for flight after unexpected release from medical treatment [Health/Interior Health Authority].
• Page 38 – Coverage for special seizure medication extended [Health/PharmaCare/Lower Mainland].
• Page 42 – Better security for pets during meter readings [Home/BC Hydro/Lower Mainland].
• Page 43 – Application of Home Owner’s grant to clear outstanding tax balance [Hone/Ministry of Finance/Vancouver Island-Sunshine Coast].
• Page 53 – Extension of timeframe to consolidate  lots and receive fund [Local Government/Northern BC].
• Page 55 – Right to raise concerns about bylaw enforcement respected [Local Government/Vancouver Island-Sunshine Coast].
• Page 56 – Clarification about changes to PharmaCare deductible [Senior/PharmaCare/Lower Mainland].
• Page 56 – Resolution of discrepancy between DriveABLE assessment and medical evaluation leading to authorization of on-road test [Senior/Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles/Vancouver Island-Sunshine Coast].
• Page 58 – Eligibility for waiver of charges for assistance in taking medications results in cancellation of $6,500 bill [Senior/Interior Health Authority].
• Page 59 – Delay in conduction waste wood assessment mitigated bu interest paid on security deposit [Work and Business/Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations/Northern BC].
• Page 62 – Victim of identity theft not required to pay fees to regain his name [Vital Statistics Agency, Ministry of Health/Vancouver Island-Sunshine Coast].

A number of complaints made by individuals to the Office of the Ombudsperson in 2010/11 resulted in resolutions for individuals, but also improvements to program delivery including:

• Page 39 – Wheelchairs being purchases for maximum security units at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital [Health/Provincial Health Authority/Lower Mainland].
• Page 40 – More accessible information provided to people who call with their concerns about gas marketers [Home/BC Utilities Commission/Lower Mainland].
• Page 44 – Clearer explanations provided about application of liens against property to secure payments [Home/Family Maintenance Enforcement Program/Vancouver Island-Sunshine Coast].
• Page 46 – Improvements to practices in dealing with disability benefits/nutritional supplements [Income and Community Support/Ministry of Social Development/Vancouver Island-Sunshine Coast].
• Page 53 – New policy and clearer reasons for rejecting subdivision applications[Local Government/Lower Mainland].
• Page 60 – Changes in policy to allow errors in assessments to be corrected [Work and Business/WorkSafeBC].
• Page 64 – Better record keeping incorporated into government collection process [Ministry of Finance/Interior].
• Page 65 – Improvements to the computer/human interface for victims of crime [Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General].

The case summaries also highlighted assistance from MLA offices in obtaining fair resolutions such as:

• Page 19 – Timely delivery of a refund cheque from the government [Early Resolution/Ministry of Finance/Vancouver Island-Sunshine Coast].
• Page 54 – Payment of funds for property expropriated more than 30 years ago [Local Government/Northern BC].

The annual report provides updates on action by government in implementing recommendations made in systemic reports on income assistance (page 14); safe drinking water (page 13); and Part 1 of the systemic report on seniors’ care (page 11).

Ms. Carter described the Office of the Ombudsperson as critical in providing balance between the drive for administrative efficiency and the needs of people who government programs are designed to assist. She explained that “Unfair treatment by public authorities is also inefficient service delivery. We are looking at ways to ensure all British Colombians know about the services our Office provides, not only to assist them personally, but also to provide them practical opportunity to improve government processes in British Columbia.”