The Alberta Ombudsman has been providing oversight of the provincial government since our office opened in 1967. Its purpose – to protect the rights of all Albertans to be treated fairly in the provision of public service. Our collaborative relationship with provincial agencies, boards, commissions and departments has resulted in positive change within the Alberta government and the ministries with which we work. We offer guidance to early resolution of complaints and in the case of a full investigation, we share findings and recommendations aimed at both short- and long-term solutions. Changes to our jurisdiction over the years has widened our scope and offered more Albertans the benefit of an independent, impartial third party in addressing administrative fairness complaints. In the full application of the oversight role, the Ombudsman brings the values of fairness, natural justice, empathy, integrity and accountability.

For more information about the principles the Ombudsman uses in determining administrative fairness, visit our Administrative Fairness Guidelines page.

Some of the provincial agencies in our jurisdiction include:

  • Justice and Solicitor General (includes Correctional Services and the Maintenance Enforcement Program)
  • Community and Social Services (includes AISH, Alberta Works and various appeal panels)
  • Workers’ Compensation Board
  • Children’s Services

If you are an Alberta government decision-maker looking for resources to better apply standards of administrative fairness within your department, you may find our Fundamentals of a Complaints Mechanism and our Internal Complaint Mechanism Checklist to be of use. For information regarding case summaries, findings and recommendations, our Annual Reports can be found here.