Ombudsman now on the job

It is official – the Region of Durham now has its own ombudsman.

Passed at the final meeting of regional council before its summer recess, ADR Chambers Inc. has been named as the ombudsman for the region, effective July 1.

Speaking with The Oshawa Express when the motion to create the office was first proposed, Matt Gaskell, the region’s commissioner of corporate services, said the new position will be another level of scrutiny that the public could use should it have complaints about the region.

“That position will be modeled after the office in other municipalities and it will report to council, and we’ll set up procedures in order for it to investigate public complaints which have otherwise gone through our internal complaint processes,” he told The Oshawa Express in December.

“If the public is still not satisfied, there will be this process that they can utilize.”