The ombudsman’s mandate was established based on a departmental directive. In fact, the Minister of National Defence decided to create the office of the ombudsman and set up its own directive. It was not done through legislation, the way it is for other independent organizations.
As for National Defence, there are three independent organizations. There is the Canadian Forces Grievance Board, which was formed under the National Defence Act. So there are legislative provisions to that effect. The MPCC is also covered under the act. The third outside organization is not. That is our office. We do our work under a mandate from the minister.
About one month and a half ago, a very interesting event took place. It was the International Conference of Ombudsman Institutions for the Armed Forces. This year, the fourth edition was held in Canada. Representatives from 25 foreign countries came to share the lessons they have learned. It was interesting to see the wide spectrum of authority delegated to various ombudsman offices. In some cases, there was no authority or just the authority of a simple figurehead, whereas in other cases, the organizations were able to make decisions that the government or the authority in question implemented. I think that we are somewhere in the middle, closer to making recommendations. That is where we are at right now with our mandate.