About us

 

The Ombudsman of the City of Laval is an independent, objective, and impartial individual who reviews citizen complaints.

The Ombudsman ensures the fair, equitable, and benevolent treatment of citizens’ cases and provides them the opportunity to settle their issues through the intermediary of a non-judicial resource that is competent, easily accessible, free, and highly efficient.

The Forum of Canadian Ombudsman offers the following definition: An Ombudsman/Ombudsperson assists with the fair and expeditious resolution of complaints in an impartial, confidential and independent manner.

Our main goal remains the same: when citizens reach out to the Ombudsman, they must feel confident they are knocking on the right door to get their questions answered.

History

February 2021

Ms. Nathalie Blais was appointed by the Municipal Council in February 2021.

August 2020

Ms. Nadine Mailloux left her position in August 2020.

March 2014

The City Council reviewed the powers of the Ombudsman to grant her more independence and give her the necessary discretion to act and investigate.

In addition, citizens no longer have to exhaust all legal remedies before appealing. Before appealing to the Ombudsman, you must nevertheless have exhausted all normal administrative remedies made available by the City.

September 2013

Ms. Nadine Mailloux was appointed Ombudsman of the City of Laval by the Commission municipale du Québec under a City Council resolution (2013-350). She reports directly to the City Council and, by her method of appointment, operates independently of the municipal administration.

January 2013

The City Council overhauled the Office of the Ombudsman by adopting resolution 2013-58, which implemented the traditional model of a single Ombudsman who would address the concerns of the public without the aid of commissioners.

I want to really, really thank you. You listened to what I had to say and you sensed that I was really worried.  You went over and above to have the proper department contact me and then come and verify the property to ensure that there is no security issues related to a land slide and that they can assist me on what I can do to address the problem.

Today, you took the time to call me and follow-up on the status of my file even though you are no longer responsible to address my complaint. I am very grateful for your dedication.

Independence

The Ombudsman is independent and administers his or her office autonomously.

Requests and complaints sent to the Ombudsman’s office, as well as any intervention undertaken by the office, are confidential. The Ombudsman cannot be made to divulge the information collected during the course of his or her investigations. The Ombudsman cannot be compelled to testify in court regarding any investigation. To ensure investigations are properly conducted, the Ombudsman may share certain information with municipal administration representatives.

The complainant is informed of this fact at the start of the investigation.