NPA mayoral candidate Kirk LaPointe, a former CBC ombudsman, announced Tuesday that he will create an independent “office of the ombudsperson” if his party wins a majority in the civic election.
At a news conference on the steps of city hall, LaPointe promised the office would be independent and serve as the public’s representative to handle complaints that are not being addressed by politicians or staff.
“It will be a new independent mechanism to impartially ensure city government follows procedures,” he told reporters. “It will investigate public complaints, it will report its findings and it’s going to influence change at city hall.”
LaPointe pointed out other cities such as Edmonton and Toronto have ombudsperson offices. Though he didn’t say specifically how much the office would cost to implement — saying that would have to be matched with volume of complaints — he noted most cities require an annual budget of “slightly more than a million dollars.”
In announcing his promise, LaPointe criticized the ruling Vision Vancouver party and accused the administration of being “the most secretive, least consultative government in our history.”
He said people he’s spoken to in neighbourhoods have lost trust with the present administration and is a reason the city is facing 16 lawsuits, some of which are regarding the city’s planning policies and pushback over community plans.
LaPointe acknowledged it is the role of civic politicians and government staff to answer citizens’ complaints but said if a citizen is unhappy with the results, an ombudsperson would be an outlet to appeal his or her concern.
“The appeal process shouldn’t be to instantly file a lawsuit,” said LaPointe, a longtime media executive who served as CBC’s ombudsman from 2010 to 2012. “That’s, I think, unhealthy for our system. It only broaches a kind of divisive nature and I don’t want that to be the culture we have under NPA.”
LaPointe’s announcement Tuesday was not a surprise to readers of his blog “The Vancouver I want”, where LaPointe wrote Aug. 12 about the need for an ombudsperson’s office to be created.
In his first news conference with reporters in July, LaPointe emphasized the need for more openness at city hall, saying “I believe we have an opportunity here to have the most transparent government of any in Canada, maybe in North America.”
Vision Coun. Andrea Reimer, who is seeking re-election, pointed out that B.C.’s Office of the Ombudsman already exists and has jurisdiction over local governments. Reimer said LaPointe clearly hadn’t done his homework.
As for LaPointe’s accusations calling the Vision administration the most secretive in the city’s history, Reimer said the real secret is what the NPA’s plans are for homelessness, affordable housing, transit and childcare.
“On the broader issue of consultation and engagement, we have done way more than any administration ever has — and that’s not to say that it’s enough,” said Reimer, noting the creation of the city’s engaged city task force.
She noted the previous NPA administration in the 2005 to 2008 term led to the cutting of citizens’ advisory bodies, which reduced residents’ say in decisions at city hall.
“So it’s been a lot of work to rebuild that community capacity around resident engagement,” said Reimer, who was first elected to council in 2008 when Vision won its first of two majority governments.
Concerns with how council and staff conduct business at city hall are not new.
In 2009, lawyer Richard Peck outlined a series of recommendations to council that included hiring a so-called integrity commissioner to investigate councillors and employees who contravene the city’s code of conduct.
The city hired Peck in 2008 to investigate the leak of a confidential document related to the Olympic Village project from an Oct. 14, 2008 in camera meeting of council.
Some councillors took polygraph tests conducted by the Vancouver Police Department, which launched an investigation into the missing document but failed to recommend any charges.
Council never did hire an integrity commissioner.
