Serving citizens and parliamentarians for 50 years
1968 – The Protecteur du citoyen is created
The Public Protector Act was passed by the National Assembly on November 14, 1968. The Act aims to create an organization tasked to receive, examine and handle complaints regarding the public service.
An institution inspired by Sweden and New Zealand
The idea of an ombudsperson for Québec came to Daniel Johnson, the Premier of Québec from 1966 to 1968, after he met the Swedish and New Zealand Ombudspersons. However, it was under the watch of his successor, Jean-Jacques Bertrand, that the institution was established.
The first Protecteur du citoyen, Louis Marceau, took office on May 1, 1969.
2006 – New powers
In 2006, the Protecteur du citoyen was given another mandate that had belonged to another ombudsman organization in the past. This consisted of ensuring that the rights of the people who use the health and social services network are upheld by handling their complaints, mainly at the second level.
2017 - A new mandate
Since May 1, 2017, the Protecteur du citoyen has been empowered to handle disclosures of wrongdoing concerning public bodies. It also handles reprisal complaints stemming from these disclosures.
