1.3.2 More focused, systemic interventions — More

Chapter 1

An Organizational Story

1.3.2 More focused, systemic interventions

At the core of its new approach, the Commissioner’s Office will conduct a review of complaints in a trend-based, systemic context. This means that the Commissioner’s contacts with the executives of government ministries and agencies will be more focused, first with regard to the complaints received and the trend analysis performed by the staff of the Commissioner’s Office, and then with regard to the action priorities of the Commissioner’s Office.

Of course, some ministries are called on more than others because of the nature of their activities. Specifically, the ministries that deal with justice, health, education and government services are the subject of more complaints from the public than other ministries. That is understandable, if only because of the volume of transactions they have on a daily basis. It is for this reason, by the way, that the Commissioner has always steered clear of producing a “hit parade” of organizations based on the number of complaints they receive, because such a ranking would be unfair.

This does not mean, however, that government ministries and agencies that receive fewer complaints have no role to play in the development of the Franco-Ontarian community. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food can play a significant role with the province’s Francophone population, even though the number of complaints it receives is relatively small. It is the Commissioner’s job to meet with the key community organizations in each sector, understand the issues raised, and establish his action priorities, whether the Commissioner’s Office has received complaints or not.

Furthermore, under the new approach adopted by the Commissioner’s Office, the ministry will have to be provided with guidance in the resolution process, especially if there is a recommendation. Too often in the past, the Commissioner made certain recommendations (based on field observations) accompanied by very specific solutions, and then left the ministry in question to its own devices in trying to fully grasp the substance of these recommendations. The Commissioner’s Office needs to communicate its views more effectively. Interactions between the Commissioner’s Office and the ministries will remain frequent, in a spirit of collaboration and for the sake of the well-being of Francophone citizens.