The Ombuds Blog: First Audit of Justice Canada's Ombuds is Favorable

November 05, 2024

First Audit of Justice Canada's Ombuds is Favorable

In June, the Canadian Department of Justice completed its first formal review of its Ombuds office. The Ombuds and Informal Resolution Services Office (OIRSO) was established in 2021 and is headed by Sonya-Kim St-Julien. The audit report covered fiscal years 2020-21 through 2022-23, and examines issues related to relevance, design and delivery, effectiveness and efficiency.

The auditors were generally impressed by the new service, writing:

OIRSO effectively supports employees to address workplace conflict by helping them navigate available resources and make informed decisions. Over a third of OIRSO evaluation survey respondents indicated that they used OIRSO’s services, and referrals to other sources of assistance are happening in a reciprocal manner. Most OIRSO clients were satisfied with the services they received and were likely to refer others to the Office. * * *

Overall, OIRSO is having a positive impact on employees’ well-being by collaborating with others in the Department and increasing the capacity to address workplace conflict. OIRSO has developed collaborative working relationships with stakeholders and works alongside them to identify departmental issues and trends and to develop tools and resources to respond to client needs. The Office was also found to be effective at using its upward feedback mechanism to provide recommendations to senior management and it contributes to driving cultural change in the Department. The report recommended that OIRSO work on effectively communicating its role and mandate, and continue efforts to collaborate with internal partners to improve information sharing.

The full report was published recently. (OISRO Final Report.)

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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Austria -- Ombudsstelle

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany -- Ombudspersonen

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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