Officials with the office of the Ombudsman will be traveling north to La Loche next Wednesday to take direct complaints from residents there, concerning various government agencies.
Last year, La Loche lodged 70 grievances, with the majority being against the Ministry of Social Services.
Leila Dueck, Communications Director says a large number of complaints lodged against the government concern Social Services.
“Last year, Social Services was the government’s organization that we received the most complaints about overall. That’s also true in La Loche that I would say Social Services is the organization we get the most complaints about,” said Dueck.
Dueck says La Loche lodged 70 complaints in 2017, but could not provide statistics for this year.
“It’s important for provincial, municipal and health services to treat people fairly – and to know that there is an independent Office to go to if they are having trouble resolving a problem,” Ombudsman Mary McFadyen said.
A press release from the Ombudsman says “The Office takes complaints about the administrative decisions and actions of a wide range of government organizations, including, for example, Social Services, SaskTel, SaskPower, SaskEnergy, SGI, Sask Housing, and the Office of Residential Tenancies. The Office can now also take complaints about Saskatchewan’s municipalities and municipal council members.”
Dueck says the Ombudsman encourages the complainant to first try to resolve their grievance first before stepping in. She says if the Office does take action, it is usually in an informal manner. Dueck says appoints are being accepted for the September 12 visit.
(PHOTO: MBC file)