Nov 21, 2013

To assist both municipal officials and the public, Manitoba Ombudsman has released an updated version of Understanding Fairness, a fairness guide for municipal council members and administrators.

“We continue to be concerned about the types of complaints we receive from the public about municipal decisions,”  said Acting Ombudsman Mel Holley, noting that this year to date “almost 40% of our complaints relate to municipalities.”

Under The Ombudsman Act, Manitoba Ombudsman investigates complaints from people who believe they have not been treated fairly by government, including municipal government. An ombudsman complaint investigation involves assessing the fairness of municipal actions and decisions. Understanding Fairness provides municipal officials and administrators with several tools to help make decisions that will stand up to scrutiny when those decisions are questioned. The guide also ensures that everyone is operating from a common understanding when complaints are made and investigated. The updated version reflects some of the recent changes facing municipalities, such as the requirement for municipal councils to adopt codes of conduct and public tendering and procurement policies.

Since its first release in 2009, the guide continues to remain popular and has been reprinted several times. While the guide is aimed at municipalities, it is also popular with citizens who use the guide when dealing with their municipal governments.

Manitoba Ombudsman staff will be distributing Understanding Fairness to officials and administrators attending the Association of Manitoba Municipalities 15th Annual Convention at the Keystone Centre in Brandon the week of November 25. The guide is also available on the ombudsman's website at www.ombudsman.mb.ca, or in print by contacting ombudsman@ombudsman.mb.ca or 204-982-9130.