Paul and Zabeth Bayne – Part 14 – The Bayne Campaign for Justice

Permit me to tell you more about the Ombudsman’s Office of BC.
The Ombudsman is British Columbia’s Independent Voice for Fairness. The Ombudsman is an independent Officer of the Legislature, appointed pursuant to the Ombudsman Act.

Who and what the Ombudsman can Investigate.
The Ombudsman has jurisdiction over a wide range of public agencies, including:
• provincial government ministries, including complaints regarding income assistance and the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program
• crown corporations such as ICBC and BC Hydro
• government boards such as WCB and the BC Human Rights Tribunal
• hospitals, regional and local health agencies, and health-related government agencies such as Medical Services Plan and Pharmacare
• schools and school districts
• universities and colleges
• municipal and regional governments
• self-regulating professions such as the Law Society, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia

The Ombudsman’s Office exists to uphold the democratic principles of openness, transparency and accountability; to ensure that every person in British Columbia is treated fairly in the provision of public services; to promote and foster fairness in public administration.
The Ombudsman’s Office serves the principle of administrative fairness; the public; and the Legislature of British Columbia.

The Ombudsman’s Assignments are to generally oversee the administrative actions of government authorities; conduct thorough, impartial and independent investigations of complaints; consider possible resolutions of complaints; consult with, provide reasons, and make recommendations to authorities to improve administrative practices; provide reports to the Legislative Assembly and the people of British Columbia about administrative fairness issues and how they can be remedied; respond to inquiries from the public; provide information and advice about administrative fairness.

The Ombudsman’s Staff is committed to thorough and impartial investigations. To that end they identify issues of administrative unfairness; identify causes of recurring unfairness and advise on how it can be avoided in the future; attempt to resolve complaints through consultation when appropriate; employ an approach that identifies and addresses the underlying causes of complaints; make recommendations and issue reports that are based on sound analysis of the facts, are consistent with their statutory mandate and apply the principles of natural justice and administrative fairness;

As promising as yesterday’s post and this one sound about the possibility of a independent and objective review of the Bayne case by the office of the Ombudsman of BC, as hopeful as this advocate for fairness sounds, the Baynes may be required to go through the court process, and if that is true, then the Ombudsman is powerless because the Court prevails. The Ombudsman may not investigate complaints against court decisions. But an Ombudsman’s report that recommended to the court that the Bayne complaint was valid would bear weight in the court decision. In this there might seem be some hope. Disappointingly, nothing has resulted from Paul's and Zabeth's several filed complaints to the Ombudsman's Office.