On behalf of the Ontario Ombudsman's Office, the Public Policy Forum is hosting an event for school board and municipal stakeholders on February 25, 2016. See below for more information:

As of January 1, 2016, the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman's jurisdiction now includes the province's 444 municipalities, 82 school boards and 21 publicly-funded universities, in addition to the hundreds of provincial government bodies it has overseen for more than 40 years.

 This change, part of the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act (or Bill 8), provides an excellent opportunity to discuss the role and function of the Ombudsman, and what these changes mean for the newest members of the Ombudsman’s community: school boards and municipalities. 

The Public Policy Forum invites stakeholders from school boards and municipalities in Ontario one a one day conference in Toronto on February 25, 2016. This conference will explore the meaning, implications, and impact of this new legislation. Findings from the roundtables conducted between September and December 2015 will be addressed at the conference.

The conference will also offer participants information about:

• What Ombudsmen have achieved in Ontario, and Canada;
• How the Ombudsman will engage municipalities and school boards when handling complaints;
• What to expect when the Ombudsman calls;
• The importance of local accountability and complaints mechanisms and how the Ombudsman can help; and, 
• Conference delegates will be engaged in group discussions about improving government accountability and public services.

Register here for this free event.

For more information, please contact Rhonda Moore at Rhonda.moore@ppforum.ca or by phone at 613-238-7858 x 230.