What is an Ombud?
‘Ombud’ comes from ‘ombudsperson’, a word meaning ‘representative’. An Ombud safeguards the interests of the people in the resolution of conflicts or concerns.
What Ombud NB Does
Ombud NB is an office that helps ensure the government and other public organizations are treating people fairly and following the rules.
If you believe that you have been treated unfairly, if you are not satisfied with how a public organization has handled a request for information, or if you think your personal information or personal health information has been mishandled, we may be able to help you.
Ombud services are free and confidential. We are impartial and independent from government. We always attempt to help the parties involved resolve their issues informally and as quickly as possible.
Who the Ombud Can Help
Ombud NB’s work covers four main areas: Administrative Fairness, Information and Privacy, Wrongdoing and Favouritism.
Ombud NB receives and investigates complaints from individuals who:
- have had difficulty or feel they have been treated unfairly in interactions with public authorities
- are not satisfied with how a public body or health care provider responded to certain types
of requests for information - think a public body or health care provider breached their privacy by mishandling their
personal information and/or personal health information - are current employees of the public service, reporting matters that are potentially unlawful,
dangerous to the public or injurious to the public interest - are unsuccessful candidates in the hiring process for appointments to the civil service,
and allege favouritism
The Ombud’s Jurisdiction
Ombud NB has jurisdiction under six different Acts: The Ombud Act, the Right to Information and the Protection of Privacy Act, the Personal Health Information Privacy and Access Act, the Archives Act, the Public Interest Disclosure Act (aka whistleblower legislation), and the Civil Service Act.
Who we can investigate
Ombud NB can respond to enquiries, facilitate the resolution of issues and conduct investigations involving public sector organizations like:
- provincial government departments
- agencies, boards and commissions responsible to the provincial government
- local governments
- district education councils and school districts community colleges
- regional health authorities
- universities (for access to information and privacy complaints only)
- custodians of personal health information (for personal health information complaints only)
Who we can’t investigate
Ombud NB does not have the authority to investigate complaints concerning:
- judges and the courts
- the federal government or its agencies (including the RCMP)
- private companies and individuals
- members or officers of the Legislative Assembly
Our Process
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