A total of 3,656 complaints were received in 2022, compared to 3,811 in 2021. The report shows that 691 complaints related to social services were registered in this area in 2022, compared to 645 in 2021 and 554 in 2020.

Some social services cases have highlighted problems with the speed and accuracy of their processing, the report’s authors say.

The document describes the case of an 81-year-old Ukrainian refugee and a provincial resident, two examples that illustrate the bureaucratic burden.

In the first case, the social welfare offices had initially rejected the application for benefits, which was the case according to the ombudsman perfectly illustrates the time lag between a policy change and its implementation in the area of ​​social services, as the official responsible for assessing the application did not use the latest version of the Department’s strategy manualsays the report.

Social Services had not placed individuals arriving in Saskatchewan under the Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorization on their eligibility list

Social Services admitted their mistake, and the woman’s application was eventually approved. The Ombudsman also cites the case of a man who had to wait a year before receiving benefits heat your house in winterunderlines the report stating that the support of the Ombudsman’s office made it possible to resolve the situation.

The report also mentions the case of an elderly person who was denied admission to a special foster home on the grounds that his children had a reputation for being loud and outspoken.

Penal system, police and public security burdened

In addition to social services, the Ombudsman received 597 complaints from Saskatchewan correctional facilities in 2022, compared with 580 in 2021, the report said. The inmates’ complaints related to disciplinary procedures.

For example, an inmate at Regina Correctional Center was sentenced to 10 days in prison and 30 days of loss of privileges for taking part in a brawl.

Upon review, video of the brawl contained no evidence of this inmate’s involvement in the incident. Prison officials subsequently reversed the decision and removed the disciplinary charges from the prisoner’s file.

In another case, prison staff accused the inmate twice of the same incident.

We found that the cumulative effect of the sanctions imposed exceeded the maximum allowable sanctions. Correctional staff accepted our review and restored the inmate’s phone privilegeswrite the authors of the report.

The affected communities and health services

The report also examines complaints against local governments and provincial health departments.

In 2022, municipalities are in third place with 465 complaints against them. According to the report, one of the most common complaints received concerns the behavior of local council members.

As for health services, they were charged 236 times in 2022. These complaints relate, among other things, to the issuance of death certificates or concerns related to treatment, such as in the case of a young person with a rare disease requiring a bone marrow transplant.

In addition, the Ombudsman’s Office received 170 complaints against the Saskatchewan Insurance Company (SGI). The Saskatchewan Crown Corporation Sask power was the subject of 95 complaints. The judicial sector was affected by 83 complaints.

It is important that decision-makers recognize that even if a decision is ultimately made in favor of an individual, unduly delaying decision-making raises procedural and relational equity issues for the public.remembers the report.