{"id":2346,"date":"2012-09-19T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-19T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rf.podcastfixit.com\/index.php\/2012\/09\/19\/ombusman-wants-more-laval-citizens-to\/"},"modified":"2015-06-01T19:42:02","modified_gmt":"2015-06-01T19:42:02","slug":"ombusman-wants-more-laval-citizens-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newscoverage.org\/index.php\/2012\/09\/19\/ombusman-wants-more-laval-citizens-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Ombusman wants more Laval citizens to use her service"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\nNew advocacy office underused for a city of this size
\n<\/b><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\"page5image2360\"\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\nBy Robert Frank
\n
\nwww.thesuburban.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still not receiving our fair share of complaints for a city the size of Laval,\u201d Diane Lemelin
\ntold The Suburban<\/i> in an interview.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s ombudsman filed her 2011 annual
\nreport, Sept. 17, indicating that her office handled
\nonly five complaints that year.<\/p>\n

She pointed out that her position was only created in December last year and, given the ensuing
\nholiday period, she was surprised that she received
\nas many complaints as she did.<\/p>\n

This year, however, the pace of grievances has
\nfallen far below the rate that she had anticipated.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far during 2012, we have only received 40
\ncomplaints,\u201d she said. In contrast, \u201cQuebec City
\nreceives about 200 complaints per year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lemelin speculated that this could be because
\nthe public is unaware that they can have recourse
\nto her new www.ombudsmanlaval.com<\/a> organization.\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n\u201cWe will address that in a communication plan
\nthat we will launch this year,\u201d she vowed.<\/p>\n

Lemelin underscored that the ombudsman only
\nhas a mandate to address administrative concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll municipal ombudsmen in Quebec have the same strict mandate to review what is done by the
\nmunicipal administration,\u201d she explained. \u201cWe
\ndon\u2019t have any power to oversee the elected members of the municipal council.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her office\u2019s inaugural few weeks last year,
\nshe added, none of the complaints that she received
\nwere taken to a higher level, often because citizens
\nhadn\u2019t yet exhausted all their other options.<\/p>\n

She said, for example, a citizen had complained
\nto her about defective lampposts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is a problem with a particular municipal
\nservice, citizens need to complain to that municipal service first, to give them a chance to fix the
\nproblem,\u201d she observed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re an organization of last resort,\u201d Lemelin
\nconcluded. \u201cIf they are still dissatisfied, then they
\ncan complain to the ombudsman.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New advocacy office underused for a city of this size By Robert Frank www.thesuburban.com \u201cWe are still not receiving our fair share of complaints for a city the size of Laval,\u201d Diane Lemelin told The Suburban in an interview. 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