Veterans Affairs committee  Yes.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm doing my part.

Veterans Affairs committee  What I'm promoting is what is referred to as the classical ombudsman model. It's a parliamentary model. In England you have the U.K. parliamentary ombudsman to take complaints regarding U.K. institutions. You may want to go to the United Kingdom. They have had a very well-established ombudsman's office for the last 40 years.

Veterans Affairs committee  This is in fact bring your child to work day.

Veterans Affairs committee  As an ombudsman, you're an office of last resort. You would get involved if there's an issue that arises after you've exhausted internal mechanisms. Now, that is not an absolute rule. If your issue is that your case has never been listed to be heard, then of course you wouldn't wait until it's heard, because you'd never hear the case.

Veterans Affairs committee  There are examples throughout the world. In my opinion, all the Canadian provinces have excellent provincial legislation. I think we have to start by looking at what is being done in the provinces. Quebec’s Public Protector Act is excellent. In fact, in Quebec, the jurisdiction of the ombudsman was just expanded to cover healthcare, hospitals, etc.

Veterans Affairs committee  Quebec is even ahead of the Ontario legislation, but the powers are similar. In Alberta, the authority has just been extended to hospitals. In New Brunswick, the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction has just been extended to complaints against the youth protection agency. Each province has an excellent model.

Veterans Affairs committee  I would just like to clarify what you said somewhat. I am aware that it was you—I read it in the minutes—with the support of some of your colleagues who took part in the discussion, including, of course, Mr. Stoffer, who insisted I appear before this committee. I greatly appreciate the committee’s invitation.

Veterans Affairs committee  The most obvious ones occur in cases where you detect a trend. People who don't know each other, who are geographically apart, come forward with the same experience. This discloses to you that there is a systemic problem, a problem that lies beyond an individual case or decision.

Veterans Affairs committee  Absolutely. We never make anything public unless we have a complete, explicit waiver of confidentiality by the complainant. Confidentiality is one of the cornerstones of the ombudsman process. Most of our work is done in complete anonymity. The results of investigations are reported in our annual report.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, I think the first year or two would be a good indication of where the problems lie. Administrative tribunals—and I'm not an expert in the one that you've been hearing about, the veterans pension appeal board—are typically haunted by backlogs, delays, and injustices suffered in the hearing process.

Veterans Affairs committee  Are you talking about a federal ombudsman?

Veterans Affairs committee  As I indicated in my opening remarks, there was a bill in 1978 to create a federal ombudsman position that would have taken a similar form. There is no doubt that an ombudsman is lacking at the federal level. There is a federal ombudsman in Australia and in England. All the provinces of Canada have an ombudsman.

Veterans Affairs committee  Okay.

Veterans Affairs committee  I agree with you on that. Perhaps something got lost in translation here.