Québec City, December 1, 2022 — In his 2021-2022 Annual Report, Protecteur du citoyen Marc-André Dowd weighs in on major shortcomings by Government of Québec departments and agencies. He also reveals serious public integrity flaws within certain public bodies. He also notes that the public service is in the throes of significant change dictated by the pandemic. As he sees it, this era of change must benefit people directly.
"In the past year, public services have displayed an astonishing ability to adapt to the constraints of COVID-19. This undertaking that fosters innovation must be an opportunity for government departments and agencies to work their way back after being hit hard by the pandemic and improve the slate of services to people," the Protecteur du citoyen declared.
Examples of worrisome failings by government departments and agencies
- After having been assaulted, a victim wanting compensation tried but could not be recognized as a self-employed worker by the Direction générale de l’indemnisation des victimes d’actes criminels (DGIVAC). Because of the Protecteur du citoyen, the person was deemed eligible for the intended assistance.
- In 2021, the Protecteur du citoyen conducted an investigation into student financial assistance. In its special report, it noted, among other things, sizable flaws concerning the information given to students and their access to the person handling their file.
- The documentation on certain Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration procedures is essential for immigration candidates as part of their application process at a turning point in their life. However, the information is not available, either by Internet or other means. This contravenes the Act respecting administrative justice.
- A citizen was denied a surviving spouse’s pension because Retraite Québec considered that cohabitation had not been demonstrated. The couple’s declarations about this subject to various public services over the years had been very clear. The Protecteur du citoyen felt that the evidence was more than sufficient and Retraite Québec agreed to change its decision.
A few figures
- 5,366 requests handled concerning government departments and agencies
- Interventions concerning 56 government departments and agencies
- Main grounds for substantiated complaints:
- lengthy wait times (46.3%)
- financial harm (17.1%)
- failure to respect citizens’ rights (14.2%)
The Protecteur du citoyen acts impartially and independently in ensuring that the rights of people are upheld in their dealings with public services. Its services are free and user-friendly.
Whistleblowers turned to the Protecteur du citoyen
In 2021-2022, the Protecteur du citoyen received 193 disclosures and 57 requests for assistance as part of the application of the Act to facilitate the disclosures of wrongdoings relating to public bodies.
This law empowers the Protecteur du citoyen to investigate allegations of wrongdoing relating to public bodies, as well as to handle reprisal complaints from people who, in good faith, disclosed such acts or cooperated in an investigation conducted further to a disclosure. The Act provides for protection against reprisal for whistleblowers and people who cooperate in an investigation. Under this law, the Protecteur du citoyen preserves the confidentiality of the information collected as part of its public service integrity investigations.
See the Highlights of the Protecteur du citoyen’s 2021-2022 Annual Report in the Annual Reports section of our website.
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