Frustrated Port Coquitlam residents took their complaints to the BC Ombudsperson by the dozens last year as COVID-19 infringed on personal rights and caused health concerns, according to an annual report released today (June 25).
The riding was among the top four in the province for complaints to the agency that deals with problems related to public agencies, such as government ministries, commissions and boards, crown corporations, schools, colleges, universities and health authorities.
Port Coquitlam had a total of 95 complaints in the past year; only Boundary-Similkameen, Saanich-South and Vancouver-Mount Pleasant had more.
(You can scroll down for complaints across all Tri-City ridings.)
A media spokesperson couldn’t confirm the type of complaints typically made by residents of the riding represented by MLA Mike Farnworth, who is also the province’s solicitor general and public safety minister.
However, the spokesperson said the complaints would have been kinds of beef PoCo residents had with one of more than 1,000 agencies overseen by the ombudsperson.
Ombudsperson 2020/21 Annual Report highlights diverse range of COVID-19 related complaints https://t.co/BxfS4wJQ5P #bcpoli #Ombudsman pic.twitter.com/3T80gYiHqI
— B.C. Office of the Ombudsperson (@BCOmbudsperson) June 25, 2021
HUGE CASELOAD OF COMPLAINTS AGAINST PUBLIC BODIES
The office received more than 7,700 complaints and inquiries last year about a wide range of public sector organizations, 650 complaints were related to COVID-19.
Top places people complained about were ICBC (491); Children and Family Development ministry (481); and Public Safety and Solicitor General (419).
Fraser Health, which deals with local hospitals and care homes, had 176 complaints while there were eight complaints about the Coquitlam school district (SD43) to the ombudsperson last year.
COVID-19 was high on people’s mind when they filed a complaint.
COMPLAINANTS SEEK FAIRNESS, COMPENSATION, BETTER COMMUNICATION
Common COVID-related complaints included concerns about long-term care, the adequacy of pandemic-related precautions in correctional centres and complaints related to pandemic benefits such as the BC Recovery Benefit and the Temporary Pandemic Pay Benefit.
And a number of compelling cases were resolved in the complainant’s favour, including:
- A wife’s application for long-term care essential visitor status was expedited and ultimately granted so she could support and care for her husband.
- A health authority reversed a policy established early in the pandemic that prevented in-person visits of lawyers with patients involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act.
- A seriously injured worker who had slipped through the cracks at WCB was awarded $52,000 in retroactive payments for benefits he was unaware he qualified for.
- A violence alert placed arbitrarily on a patient’s medical record was removed and a letter of apology was sent to the patient who felt discriminated against by hospital staff.
- Following a complaint from a concerned parent, guidance documents were developed by a school district to inform school staff of the requirements before medically excluding or suspending a student.
In new report about youth corrections we find most common rationale for prolonged separate confinement (>72hrs) was risk of self-injury or suicide; disproportionate impact on Indigenous and racialized girls https://t.co/3JdEINrdY5 #bcpoli #canpoli #youth pic.twitter.com/NgitCzH7XZ
— B.C. Office of the Ombudsperson (@BCOmbudsperson) June 16, 2021
“The complaints that came to us this past year show the wide range of impacts the pandemic has had on British Columbians when receiving public services,” said BC Ombudsperson Jay Chalke.
“While oversight offices like the Ombudsperson are important all of the time, they are particularly vital when government services rapidly change as they did during the pandemic.”
HERE’S HOW MANY TRI-CITY COMPLAINTS WERE MADE TO THE BC OMBUDSPERSON
- Port Coquitlam: 95
- Coquitlam-Maillardville: 43
- Port Moody Coquitlam: 42
- Coquitlam-Burke Mountain: 21
The Office of the Ombudsperson is an oversight office, independent of government, with jurisdiction over more than 1,000 provincial and local public bodies in B.C.
It has a statutory mandate to receive and investigate complaints from the public when they feel they have been treated unfairly when receiving government services.
The office also investigates allegations of serious wrongdoing in the workplace under the Public Interest Disclosure Act.
The office's services are free, confidential and impartial.
If you need to make a complaint, visit here to start the process.
