Complaints to city up 22 per cent over last year: Toronto Ombudsman

WATCH ABOVE: Global’s Dave Trafford has more on what led to Fiona Crean’s departure and what it means for the future of the office.

TORONTO – Complaints to the city have risen 22 per cent compared to last year as a result of poor communication and service, according to a report by Toronto’s Ombudsman released on Monday.

The report by Fiona Crean, who has announced she will not return to the role she has held for the past six years, indicates residents continue to face delays in getting help because “the ombudsman’s office has not kept pace with the 129 per cent increase in complaints” during her tenure.

“Council is not living up to the commitment of fairness and independent oversight that was promised in the City of Toronto Act,” Crean said in a media release.

In 2014, the Ombudsman handled 2,230 complaints, a 22 per cent increase over 2013.

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE

Nearly 51 per cent of the complaints related to poor communication, which included unreasonably long response times, telephone calls not returned, and hard-to-understand written communications.

The 10 areas most complained about areas remain similar to previous years. Toronto Community Housing (TCH) received the most, followed by Parks, Forestry and Recreation and Municipal Licensing.

The Ombudsman received 21 complaints about its own services. Fourteen were about our investigation into human resource practices at TCH.

From a regional standpoint, the data also showed moderate growth in complaints from Toronto and East York as well as Etobicoke, and low growth in Scarborough.

There was a slight decline in complaints from North York.

Crean says she has notified council on her departure with her appointment to end in November.

“The debate on my reappointment next week promises to be divisive, and I feel this will hurt the office, and its efforts to ensure fairness for the City’s residents,” she said.