What is an Ombudsman?
An Ombudsman is an impartial investigator who looks into complaints about the administration of the Region’s and/or HCHC’s services or programs, in those instances where the Region’s or HCHC’s internal complaint procedures and processes have not resolved the issue to your satisfaction. Before contacting the Ombudsman, try to resolve complaints through regular channels at Halton first.
A complaint may only be filed with the Ombudsman if it is related to the administration of the Region and/or HCHC. It is not a request for service (i.e. notifying the Region of missed garbage collection) or an inquiry (i.e. requesting specific information related to a program or service).
If you have already tried to have your complaint addressed by the Region and/or HCHC and are not satisfied with the outcome, you can contact the Ombudsman.
Filing a complaint with the Ombudsman
The Complaint Form is available on the Ombudsman’s website. You must complete the complaint form, sign it and forward it along with any supplementary documents directly to the Ombudsman. Regional staff cannot forward complaints.
Anonymous complaints will not be accepted.
What happens next
The Ombudsman will review your complaint, determine whether or not it falls within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction and contact you regarding next steps in the process. For details about how the process works, please refer to the complaint process on the Ombudsman’s website.
Need assistance?
If you require assistance with the Complaint Form or process or require information in an alternate format, please contact the ADR Chambers Ombuds Office directly.