Roles and mandates

An institution you can trust

The Québec Ombudsman has been Québec’s ombudsman since 1969. It is independent and impartial and is not a Government of Québec organization. It reports to the National Assembly.

Our mission:

1. See to it that citizens’ rights are upheld when citizens interact with Québec public services.
2. See to the integrity of public services and be part of the action to improve them.

We handle:

YOUR COMPLAINTS AND REPORTS

We intervene every day to prevent or correct breaches of rights, abuse, negligence, inaction or errors that affect citizens in their dealings with:

• A Government of Québec department or agency;
• A health and social services institution (generally as a second instance). 

See File a complaint.

YOUR PUBLIC INTEGRITY DISCLOSURES

We handle confidentially:

• Disclosures of wrongdoing within or about a public body;
• Reprisal complaints stemming from a disclosure or cooperation in an investigation.

Under certain conditions, the Québec Ombudsman can provide financial assistance so you can obtain legal advice from the attorney of your choice.

See Whistleblowers.

The Québec Ombudsman is not your attorney.
When we examine a complaint or report, we listen to all the parties concerned and carry out rigorous and objective investigations. 
If we see that something is wrong, we transmit our recommendations to the authority concerned so that it can correct the situation as quickly as possible.
For public service complaints, we cannot intervene if a case concerning the same facts or events is before the Court of Québec or Québec Superior Court.
We cannot have a court decision overturned. 
The Québec Ombudsman is an alternative to the courts. If you contact us first, often we can prevent long and costly legal proceedings.

Our other mandates

• The Québec Ombudsman is Québec’s correctional ombudsman. We handle complaints from detainees in correctional facilities run by the Ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec.
• We also are also proactive. We can intervene on our own initiative and conduct investigations concerning major issues. When this happens, our recommendations are aimed at solutions for improving the quality of public services. See Special reports.
• The Québec Ombudsman analyzes bills and draft regulations, as well as administrative directives and policy. When we feel it is appropriate and in the public interest, we recommend changes. See Reactions to bills and draft regulations.