TORONTO – Ontario’s new ombudsman is stepping into his role much more quietly than his predecessor left.
Paul Dube, the former federal taxpayers’ ombudsman, started as Ontario ombudsman Friday and called the job a “dream come true.”
“It’s a job I’ve thought about for a long time,” he said in an interview. “I’ve always had great admiration and respect for the work coming out of this office and for the people, the dynamic team here that has been doing that great work and I feel really privileged to be joining this team.”
The deputy ombudsman filled the job in an interim capacity since September, but Dube permanently takes over from Andre Marin.
Marin was a vocal critic of government with a flair for the dramatic and as his second, five-year term was expiring he waged a Twitter campaign to appeal for a third.
“Not to appear precipitous or anything, but after 10 + years on the job, was told I’d b re-appointed temporarily,” he wrote in May as he sought an extension.
“In less than 48 hours, u have no Ombudsman. Time to make ur voice heard. Unfortunately it’s come to this. MAKE SOME NOISE PLEASE!”
READ MORE: Ontario ombudsman gets 4 month extension after Twitter plea
He was granted a four-month extension, but as that came to an end he held a press conference to decry the “shambolic” hiring process.
Marin was also highly critical of the government removing oversight of Hydro One from his office as it began privatization of the utility, saying the new in-house watchdog that would be appointed for Hydro One would be an “ombuds-weenie.”
Dube’s position is less antagonistic, saying Hydro One ombudsman Fiona Crean is a “very capable person.”
“I’m sure she’s going to be very effective as the ombudsman at Hydro One,” he said.
“I think that the opportunity to be on the ground and to be connected with management, it’s productive. There are different ways of approaching the role of an ombudsman and that’s one of them.”
READ MORE: Ombudsman details billing ‘horror’ at Hydro One
Marin investigated billing complaints at Hydro One and found that the utility had threatened to cut off the electricity of customers who were behind on payments, even during winter months, which he called a “blatantly misleading tactic” to collect money.
Though the ombudsman’s office lost an area of oversight, it also recently gained the ability to receive complaints on municipalities, universities and school boards.
Since the office took on oversight of school boards six months ago and the other areas three months ago, it has received 393 complaints about school boards, 970 about municipalities and 91 about universities.
Dube says most of those complaints were resolved informally, at the local level, and no formal investigations have been launched.
Marin also made his mark as a prolific tweeter, publishing personal posts such as pictures of his dogs or meals amid official ombudsman news, but Dube said he will be leaving most of the tweeting up to the communications staff.
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