On May 20, Alberta Ombudsman Kevin Brezinski met with Roman Waschuk from the Business Ombudsman Council of Ukraine. A seasoned Canadian diplomat, former Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine and international policy expert, Mr. Waschuk was in Canada for a number of important business engagements, including a visit to the Alberta Ombudsman’s office in downtown Edmonton.
The two Ombudsman shared learnings from their respective offices. For the Alberta Ombudsman, Mr. Brezinski’s office provides citizens with an avenue to complain about administrative unfairness in the public sector. Mr. Waschuk’s mandate as Business Ombudsman focuses on the private sector, where he’s a driving force for anti-corruption, transparency and economic resilience.
“It was an honour to host the Business Ombudsman Council from Ukraine,” said Mr. Brezinski. “Roman’s courage and dedication to the mission of facilitating economic development is especially inspiring during this time of war and tremendous upheaval. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share best practices about advancing administrative fairness in Alberta and hope peace comes to Ukraine before our next meeting.”
“Public integrity in dealing with stakeholders, including business, is a priority we share with our Alberta counterparts,” said Mr. Waschuk. “Adopting new technologies to our investigative approaches is important, but so is keeping the focus on the complainant and the personal touch in problem solving.”
