The City of Toronto has a new Ombudsman and the office doors are officially open for business. The mandate for this new office is huge. To be adjudicator between citizens dissatisfied with city services (or lack of) – and the bureaucrats in charge.
Some of the key types of work the Office does, includes conducting outreach and education for the public, informally resolving complaints and conducting investigations.
An alternative to courts, the Ombudsman is the office of last resort — somewhere to come to after trying to get the issue resolved with the responsible city of Toronto department.
But with a mandate to educate the public, it can also be the place of “first resort” by providing a blue print to different city departments, their roles and who to contact for solutions. Open for just over a week, the office received more than 100 complaints — about housing, licensing, broken garbage bins and improper contract awards. 28 of those complaints have already been resolved without the use of courts.
For more information go to www.ombudstoronto.ca. or call 416-392-7062. The site also has an on-line complaints process, and information on making effective complaints.
Anna Betel is a Sales Representative with Royal LePage R.E.S./Johnston & Daniel Division. Anna is a regular contributor to the Muddy York Real Estate Blog. Anna’s website is located at www.annabetel.com
