For the week of Oct. 29, 2023:
Established in 1979, British Columbia’s Office of the Ombudsperson is the independent voice for fairness and accountability when public bodies fall short.
Jay Chalke, the Ombudsperson since 2015, is the watchdog for 1,000 public bodies. He also oversees the province’s whistleblower protection law. Government has gotten bigger and citizen complaints more complex since 2020.
Last year, the office received more than 7,300 complaints under the Ombudsperson Act, mainly about the decisions or outcomes of decisions by public bodies, their procedures and how they communicate. ICBC, ministries involved in child protection and poverty reduction attracted the most complaints.
Listen to host Bob Mackin’s interview of Ombudsperson Jay Chalke.
Plus, headlines from the Pacific Rim and the Pacific Northwest.
CLICK BELOW to listen or go to TuneIn, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts.
Have you missed an edition of theBreaker.news Podcast? Go to the archive.
Support theBreaker.news for as low as $2 a month on Patreon. Find out how. Click here.
