2020-2021 Annual Report – During a health crisis, public services must display twice as much humanity and empathy

  • September 30, 2021
Corps

Québec, le 30 septembre 2021 – In her 2020-2021 Annual Report, Québec Ombudsperson Marie Rinfret pinpoints major flaws in the quality of the public services provided by Government of Québec departments and agencies. This year’s investigations also revealed wrongdoing within certain public bodies.

"The pandemic that continues to affect us has clearly shown that public services must always be inspired to act with humanity and empathy. Unfortunately, some government and agency services have delivered mediocre performances," said the Ombudsperson.

Examples of failings by departments and agencies

A few figures

Among the main grounds for substantiated complaints in 2020-2021, four causes for dissatisfaction about government department and agency services recur the most often:

A major gain for victims of violence

In an opinion published in 2017, the Protecteur du citoyen recommended eliminating any prescription period for civil actions in cases of sexual assault, violence suffered during childhood, or violence by a spouse or an ex-spouse. A law was passed in 2020 in response to this recommendation.

Public integrity disclosures

In 2020-2021, the Protecteur du citoyen received 190 disclosures and 42 requests for assistance under the Act to facilitate the disclosure of wrongdoings relating to public bodies.

"When the Protecteur du citoyen intervenes to correct a wrongdoing, it sends a clear message to public services and the population about maintaining the highest public integrity standards. We must never lower the guard in being vigilant," cautioned Marie Rinfret.

Examples of integrity breaches

The Protecteur du citoyen, which acts impartially and independently, ensures that the rights of citizens are upheld in their dealings with public services. The Ombudsman’s services are free and user-friendly.

See the highlights of the Protecteur du citoyen’s 2020-2021 Annual Report in the Annual reports section.

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Media Relations:
Carole-Anne Huot
Phone: (418) 646-7143/Cell: (418) 925-7994
Email: carole-anne.huot@protecteurducitoyen.qc.ca