Message from the Québec Ombudsman
Understaffing: inevitable or an opportunity for growth?
"Citing labour shortages to explain reduced services has become common currency. Over time, this reality has become part of our daily lives. However, when it comes to public services, staff shortages have become the perfect pretext for shortcomings and failure to respect rights. Even if the duty to meet public needs in these conditions can, in many cases, be an extraordinary opportunity for growth. Therein lies the challenge.
I am calling on authorities, decision-makers and their teams to mobilize to face their obligations head-on when it comes to service quality and personalization."
Marc-André Dowd, Québec Ombudsman
At a glance
Public service
This year, the Québec Ombudsman intervened regarding 61 government departments and agencies to speak out against problems about:
- Access to public services;
- Lack of communication between bodies which, theoretically, are partners;
- Lack of proactivity by certain players;
- Administrative inflexibility.
5 672 grounds processed
3 main grounds for substantiated complaints:- Deadlines exceeded or unreasonable wait times
- Failure to respect citizens’ rights
- Shortcomings with a financial impact
Correctional services
In 2023, correctional services, like many public services, were affected by labour shortages. Detainees were confined to their cells much longer than prescribed. Basic rights and social reintegration, a leading value of the correctional system, must not be compromised due to staff shortages.
4 749 grounds processed
Intervention regarding 18 correctional facilities under the responsibility of the Ministère de la Sécurité publique
- Deadlines exceeded or unreasonable wait times
- Deficient surroundings or living environment
- Failure to respect detainees’ rights
Health and social services
Again this year, teams on the ground struggled to provide health services and social services. Staff dedication was heavily cited. But what about service quality in terms of administrative decisions, policies, reference frameworks, resource distribution and widespread practices? As the Québec Ombudsman sees it, public needs must guide service delivery and organization.
2 233 grounds processed
Intervention regarding 119 organizations
- Poor service quality
- Failure to respect citizens’ rights
- Staff incompetence or inadequate behaviour
Public integrity
In 2022-2023, public integrity investigations showed, among other things, inappropriate intervention by the authorities of a certain government department about serious wrongdoings within a partner organization. In other files, favoritism in hiring and abusive use of public funds had occurred.
249 grounds processed:- 166 disclosures;
- 12 reprisal complaints;
- 18 requests for access to legal advice;
- 52 requests for assistance;
- 1 request for an exemption.
Documents
In French only :
- Interactive version of the 2022-2023 Annual Report
- 2022-2023 Annual Report in PDF*
- Report on the first wave of COVID-19 in CHSLDs: update*
- Follow-up to the recommendations in the Québec Ombudsman's 2021-2022 Annual Report*
- Annual Management Report in PDF*
* These PDF versions are available for people with a permanent or temporary impairment.
