Complaints – Fairness

OmbudsPEI promotes fairness, transparency and accountability in government departments & ministries, boards & commissions, Health PEI, municipalities and post-secondary institutions.  Our work improves public services for all Islanders.

We Listen
to Complaints

We Review
& Refer

We Resolve
& Investigate

We Recommed
Change

What is “Fairness”?

FAIR SERVICE

  • Were the staff approachable?
  • Were you treated with dignity and respect?
  • Were the staff helpful, honest and forthright?
  • Was confidentiality respected?
  • Was an apology offered if a mistake was made?
  • Did you receive the decision within a reasonable period of time?

FAIR PROCESSES

  • Were you given enough information to understand what was required?
  • Did you have enough time to present your point of view?
  • Did staff take the time to listen?
  • Was the decision made free from any bias/conflict of interest?
  • Did the decision-maker honour any commitments made and follow regular procedure?
  • Did you receive reasons for the decision?
  • Were you told about any avenues for review or appeal?

FAIR DECISIONS

  • Did the government have the legal authority to make the decision?
  • Was the decision based on the relevant information?
  • Was the decision oppressive or unjust?
  • Was the decision made in good faith, with proper purpose and based on relevant considerations?
  • Were the facts and law correct in the decision?
  • Was the decision reasonable?
    • Is there a clear explanation of how the legislation, regulation or policy was applied?
    • Does the decision include an explanation of how the decision-maker considered and assessed the arguments and the evidence?
    • Was there a rational connection between the evidence presented and the conclusions reached?
  • Was the decision made within a reasonable period of time?

We are independent from government and do not take sides. We impartially evaluate processes, services and decisions to ensure that they meet the standards of fairness.

What is Fairness?

We when assess whether you have been treated fairly we look at whether:

  • the legislation that created the authority or power to make a decision and to which decision maker the authority was granted
  • the process used to make the decision was fair (procedural fairness)
  • you were given a full and fair opportunity to present your case and whether you received full disclosure about the case to be met
  • you received adequate reasons for the decision
  • the decision was impartial (the rule against bias)
  • the decision-maker failed to honour a commitment or to follow their regular procedure
  • the decision was made in a timely fashion
  • discretionary decisions were made in good faith, proper purpose and taking into account only relevant consideration
  • the decision was reasonable – was there a rational connection between the evidence presented and the conclusions reached by the decision-maker
  • information was provided about any review or appeal process Examples of the questions you can ask yourself:
    • Do you feel you were eligible for a benefit or service and have been denied that benefit?
    • Did you wait too long to get answers you need?
    • Do you disagree with a decision made or you feel it wasn’t explained to you properly?
    • Were you treated with respect and courtesy?

Our investigations are private and we must ensure confidentiality.

We are independent from government and do not take sides. We impartially evaluate processes, services and decisions to ensure that they meet the standards of fairness.

What is Fairness?

We when assess whether you have been treated fairly we look at whether:

  • the legislation that created the authority or power to make a decision and to which decision maker the authority was granted
  • the process used to make the decision was fair (procedural fairness)
  • you were given a full and fair opportunity to present your case and whether you received full disclosure about the case to be met
  • you received adequate reasons for the decision
  • the decision was impartial (the rule against bias)
  • the decision-maker failed to honour a commitment or to follow their regular procedure
  • the decision was made in a timely fashion
  • discretionary decisions were made in good faith, proper purpose and taking into account only relevant consideration
  • the decision was reasonable – was there a rational connection between the evidence presented and the conclusions reached by the decision-maker
  • information was provided about any review or appeal process Examples of the questions you can ask yourself:
    • Do you feel you were eligible for a benefit or service and have been denied that benefit?
    • Did you wait too long to get answers you need?
    • Do you disagree with a decision made or you feel it wasn’t explained to you properly?
    • Were you treated with respect and courtesy?

Our investigations are private and we must ensure confidentiality.

We are independent from government and do not take sides. We impartially evaluate processes, services and decisions to ensure that they meet the standards of fairness.

Our investigations are private and we must ensure confidentiality.

To learn more, read our Ombudsperson Act.

Before you come to us, you should try to resolve your complaint with the organization through their internal complaint/appeal process. Give them a chance to make things right. You can do this by:

  • Asking to speak to a supervisor or manager so you can explain your concerns. 
  • Asking if there is a review or appeal available so you can advance your case.
  • Writing down the names of the people you speak with, and noting the date of your conversation.
  • Treating the people you are dealing with respectfully and courteously. Listen to them carefully to ensure you fully understand their position.
  • Asking questions if you do not understand what they are telling you.
  • Writing to them to outline your complaint. It is important to make your complaint as clearly and concisely as possible. Keep a copy of your correspondence and all documents you receive.

We cannot investigate:

  • Decisions made by the federal government
  • Decisions, recommendations, acts, orders or omissions of the Legislative Assembly of PEI (the LA), a committee of the LA, Cabinet, Executive Council or a committee of Executive Council
  • Decisions, orders, or omissions made by the courts
  • Decisions, recommendations, acts or omissions where there is a right of appeal or objection or a right to apply for a review of the merits of the case to a court or tribunal – unless the Ombuds is satisfied that in the particular case it would have been unreasonable to expect the complainant to resort to the court of tribunal
  • Decisions made by universities or schools
  • Private businesses or private matters

However, we will try to direct you to the proper office to make your complaint.

You can complain about lack of fairness in process, service or decisions. Fairness means more than making the right decision and following the right process. Fairness is about interpersonal treatment and interactions – the quality of the interaction with the public body may still result in unfair treatment.

You can complain about:

  • Provincial Ministries/Departments
    •  Community and Correctional Services, Social Development & Housing, Health, Seniors
  • Boards, Commissions and Tribunals
    • IRAC, WCB, Housing Corporation
  • Health PEI
  • Municipalities and council members

  • We will review your complaint to make sure we have the authority to investigate. In order to make a proper decision about this, we might need more information from you. We will confirm whether:

    • it is about a subject and organization we can look at
    • it has gone through the right complaints/appeal procedure
    • it has enough detail and paperwork for us to get to work on it.

    If we think your complaint requires further assessment, we will contact you.

    If we decide that we will investigate your complaint we will advise you, and the public agency, of our decision to accept the complaint in writing. We will convey the issues that will be looked into.

  • We may ask you for more details and copies of documents that will help us understand your complaint. We will make some initial calls to the public agency to learn more and to find out if the problem can be resolved informally.

    We will try to resolve your complaint by working with you and the public agency. We will hear from both sides and evaluate the complaint to ensure that you have received fair service, fair treatment and a fair decision.

    Before we make our final decision on your complaint, we will contact you, and the organization under investigation, to share our preliminary findings. This is your opportunity to tell us if we have relied on inaccurate information, or if you have new information that you think changes our prelimary findings. We will take your comments into account when arriving at our final decision. We will also share the findings with the organization under investigation.

  • A better working relationship between you and the public agency
    • A refund or reimbursement
    • Access to a benefit previously denied
    • Better reasons for a decision
    • A formal apology
    • The public agency may voluntarily take steps to correct or improve the situation
    • The Ombuds may decide that the public agency acted fairly and nothing more needs to be done
    • The Ombuds may find a lack of fairness and make recommendations to correct it;
      • With a commitment to follow a fairer process (i.e. policy) in the future
      • A recommendation for employee training
      • Changes to policy, procedures, and sometimes legislation

We may contact you in the early stages of the complaint to determine whether or not to investigate the matter. Quick responses to those requests will help us ensure we don’t take cases to investigation which we could resolve early in the process.

When we decide to investigate a complaint, you will receive a letter which clearly sets out the information we are looking for. We will give you an opportunity to comment. We will ask you to tell us how you handled the complaint. We normally give 20 working days to return the information requested and provide comments. This allows us to resolve matters quickly and informally.

If the matter proceeds to a formal investigation, we will ask for clarification and more information. We will always set out a timeline for response – normally 10 working days.

We will provide you with our preliminary findings and allow you time to respond. This is your opportunity to tell us if we have relied on inaccurate information, or if you have new information that you think changes our preliminary findings. We will take your comments into account when arriving at our final decision.

When we publish our investigation report, we normally identify the organization involved. Where, however, we think that doing so could identify an individual, we are likely to anonymize the report, including the organization if appropriate. We also reserve the right to exempt some reports from publication, usually to prevent the possibility of someone being identified.

What should I include in my complaint?

Please tell us:

  • what happened
  • what you think should have happened
  • why you are complaining
  • why you feel it is still not resolved after complaining
  • what would put things right for you

  • Yes. We can choose not to pursue a complaint based on such factors as whether or not the issue is still current, the complainant is personally affected, alternative remedies exist, the matter involves public policy rather than administrative issues, or the complaint is frivolous or vexatious.  Examples include:

    • the complaint is about something that happened more than a year ago;
    • the complaint is frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith or is about something trivial;
    • In our opinion, on the balance of public interest and the interest of the person aggrieved it should not be investigated or the investigation should not be continued;
    • in the ouropinion, the circumstances do not warrant an investigation;
    • the complainant does not have sufficient personal interest in the complaint; or
    • during the course of an investigation, it appears that the complainant has an adequate remedy or right of appeal under the law or administrative practices;
    • or having regard to all circumstances, further investigation is unnecessary.

  • We may ask you for more details and copies of documents that will help us understand your complaint. We will make some initial calls to the public agency to learn more and to find out if the problem can be resolved informally.

    We will try to resolve your complaint by working with you and the public agency. We will hear from both sides and evaluate the complaint to ensure that you have received fair service, fair treatment and a fair decision.

    Before we make our final decision on your complaint, we will contact you, and the organization under investigation, to share our preliminary findings. This is your opportunity to tell us if we have relied on inaccurate information, or if you have new information that you think changes our prelimary findings. We will take your comments into account when arriving at our final decision. We will also share the findings with the organization under investigation.

  • Details from your letter of complaint are shared with the organization you are complaining about, so officials can respond to your complaint. The details are provided on the condition that the organization does not use it in any way that would detrimentally affect you. Our investigations are done in private and the investigation report itself is not disclosed. The results of the investigation are shared in a letter to the complainant and the organization. Our records cannot be disclosed under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy process.

    • A better working relationship between you and the public agency
    • A refund or reimbursement
    • Access to a benefit previously denied
    • Better reasons for a decision
    • A formal apology
    • The public agency may voluntarily take steps to correct or improve the situation
    • The Ombuds may decide that the public agency acted fairly and nothing more needs to be done
    • The Ombuds may find a lack of fairness and make recommendations to correct it;
      • With a commitment to follow a fairer process (i.e. policy) in the future
      • A recommendation for employee training
      • Changes to policy, procedures, and sometimes legislation

    We will share our conclusions with you and explain our reasons.

Before you come to us, you should try to resolve your complaint with the organization through their internal complaint/appeal process. Give them a chance to make things right. You can do this by:

  • Asking to speak to a supervisor or manager so you can explain your concerns.
  • Asking if there is a review or appeal available so you can advance your case.
  • Writing down the names of the people you speak with, and noting the date of your conversation.
  • Treating the people you are dealing with respectfully and courteously. Listen to them carefully to ensure you fully understand their position.
  • Asking questions if you do not understand what they are telling you.
  • Writing to them to outline your complaint. It is important to make your complaint as clearly and concisely as possible. Keep a copy of your correspondence and all documents you receive.

We cannot investigate:

  • Decisions made by the federal government
  • Decisions, recommendations, acts, orders or omissions of the Legislative Assembly of PEI (the LA), a committee of the LA, Cabinet, Executive Council or a committee of Executive Council
  • Decisions, orders, or omissions made by the courts
  • Decisions, recommendations, acts or omissions where there is a right of appeal or objection or a right to apply for a review of the merits of the case to a court or tribunal – unless the Ombuds is satisfied that in the particular case it would have been unreasonable to expect the complainant to resort to the court of tribunal
  • Private businesses or private matters

However, we will try to direct you to the proper office to make your complaint.

You can complain about lack of fairness in process, service or decisions. Fairness means more than making the right decision and following the right process. Fairness is about interpersonal treatment and interactions – the quality of the interaction with the public body may still result in unfair treatment.

You can complain about:

  • Provincial Ministries/Departments
    • For example: Community and Correctional Services, Social Development & Seniors, Health and Wellness, and Housing, Land and Communities
  • Boards, Commissions and Tribunals
    • For example: IRAC, WCB, PEI Housing Corporation
  • Health PEI
  • Municipalities and council members
  • Post-secondary institutions 

  • We will review your complaint to make sure we have the authority to investigate. In order to make a proper decision about this, we might need more information from you. We will confirm whether:

    • it is about a subject and organization we can look at
    • it has gone through the right complaints/appeal procedure
    • it has enough detail and paperwork for us to get to work on it.

    If we think your complaint requires further assessment, we will contact you.

    If we decide that we will investigate your complaint we will advise you, and the public agency, of our decision to accept the complaint in writing. We will convey the issues that will be looked into.

  • We may ask you for more details and copies of documents that will help us understand your complaint. We will make some initial calls to the public agency to learn more and to find out if the problem can be resolved informally.

    We will try to resolve your complaint by working with you and the public agency. We will hear from both sides and evaluate the complaint to ensure that you have received fair service, fair treatment and a fair decision.

    Before we make our final decision on your complaint, we will contact you, and the organization under investigation, to share our preliminary findings. This is your opportunity to tell us if we have relied on inaccurate information, or if you have new information that you think changes our prelimary findings. We will take your comments into account when arriving at our final decision. We will also share the findings with the organization under investigation.

    • A better working relationship between you and the public agency
    • A refund or reimbursement
    • Access to a benefit previously denied
    • Better reasons for a decision
    • A formal apology
    • The public agency may voluntarily take steps to correct or improve the situation
    • The Ombuds may decide that the public agency acted fairly and nothing more needs to be done
    • The Ombuds may find a lack of fairness and make recommendations to correct it;
      • With a commitment to follow a fairer process (i.e. policy) in the future
      • A recommendation for employee training
      • Changes to policy, procedures, and sometimes legislation

We may contact you in the early stages of the complaint to determine whether or not to investigate the matter. Quick responses to those requests will help us ensure we don’t take cases to investigation which we could resolve early in the process.

When we decide to investigate a complaint, you will receive a letter which clearly sets out the information we are looking for. We will give you an opportunity to comment. We will ask you to tell us how you handled the complaint. We normally give 20 working days to return the information requested and provide comments. This allows us to resolve matters quickly and informally.

If the matter proceeds to a formal investigation, we will ask for clarification and more information. We will always set out a timeline for response – normally 10 working days.

We will provide you with our preliminary findings and allow you time to respond. This is your opportunity to tell us if we have relied on inaccurate information, or if you have new information that you think changes our preliminary findings. We will take your comments into account when arriving at our final decision.

When we publish our investigation report, we normally identify the organization involved. Where, however, we think that doing so could identify an individual, we are likely to anonymize the report, including the organization if appropriate. We also reserve the right to exempt some reports from publication, usually to prevent the possibility of someone being identified.

What should I include in my complaint?

Please tell us:

  • what happened
  • what you think should have happened
  • why you are complaining
  • why you feel it is still not resolved after complaining
  • what would put things right for you

  • Yes. We can choose not to pursue a complaint based on such factors as whether or not the issue is still current, the complainant is personally affected, alternative remedies exist, the matter involves public policy rather than administrative issues, or the complaint is frivolous or vexatious.  Examples include:

    • the complaint is about something that happened more than a year ago;
    • the complaint is frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith or is about something trivial;
    • In our opinion, on the balance of public interest and the interest of the person aggrieved it should not be investigated or the investigation should not be continued;
    • in the ouropinion, the circumstances do not warrant an investigation;
    • the complainant does not have sufficient personal interest in the complaint; or
    • during the course of an investigation, it appears that the complainant has an adequate remedy or right of appeal under the law or administrative practices;
    • or having regard to all circumstances, further investigation is unnecessary.

  • Details from your letter of complaint are shared with the organization you are complaining about, so officials can respond to your complaint. The details are provided on the condition that the organization does not use it in any way that would detrimentally affect you. Our investigations are done in private and the investigation report itself is not disclosed. The results of the investigation are shared in a letter to the complainant and the organization. Our records cannot be disclosed under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy process.

    • A better working relationship between you and the public agency
    • A refund or reimbursement
    • Access to a benefit previously denied
    • Better reasons for a decision
    • A formal apology
    • The public agency may voluntarily take steps to correct or improve the situation
    • The Ombuds may decide that the public agency acted fairly and nothing more needs to be done
    • The Ombuds may find a lack of fairness and make recommendations to correct it;
      • With a commitment to follow a fairer process (i.e. policy) in the future
      • A recommendation for employee training
      • Changes to policy, procedures, and sometimes legislation

Do you have an issue you would like our help with? Submit your complaint.

Submit a Complaint

Do you have an issue you would like our help with?

Submit a Complaint

Acting as a bridge between the people of PEI and the public sector.

Your complaint should include:

  • your name, address, and phone number

  • the name of the department, authority or agency you are complaining about

  • details about your complaint

  • an explanation of what you have done to resolve the problem, including results of any reviews and appeals

  • information about why you feel you were treated unfairly

  • copies of any relevant documents such as review or appeal decisions.