ADRIC 2022 Session Description;
Ombuds, Reconciliation and Dispute Resolution
Gatineau, Quebec • October 20, 2022 – 10:45 am – Noon
Panel Chair: David Paradiso, Deputy Ombudsperson of British Columbia
Panel: Jay Chalke, Ombudsperson of British Columbia, Colette Langlois, Ombud of Northwest Territories, Paul Dubé, Ombudsman of Ontario, Jill Kehaulani Esch, Ombudsperson for American Indian Families, Minnesota, US (appearing virtually)
DESCRIPTION:
The panel will discuss the approach in four jurisdictions to address these challenges and improve services and support Reconciliation. Ombuds offices in North America offer a unique approach to the challenge of holding governments to account for injustices encountered by Indigenous people. The flex, low, or no cost confidential resolution focus of ombuds can facilitate accountability, transparency, and dispute resolution. However, challenges, exist in effectively serving Indigenous communities, including low awareness, issues of trust, statutory limitations and adherence to existing processes.
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BIO:
Jay Chalke has been the Ombudsperson of British Columbia since May 2015. In this role, he has led several wide-reaching systemic investigations, including the first referral of a matter to the Ombudsperson by a legislative committee, which resulted in the 2017 report Misfire: The 2012 Ministry of Health Employment Terminations and Related Matters, the most resource-intensive investigation in the 40-year history of the Ombudsperson’s Office in BC.
Jay has an extensive background in executive leadership, conducting fair and independent investigations and the use of modern approaches to dispute resolution. His previous roles include leading the Justice Services Branch of the Ministry of Attorney General; first Public Guardian and Trustee of British Columbia, where he was also a member of Canada’s delegation to the Hague Conference on Private International Law, which negotiated the Convention on the Protection of Adults; Deputy Public Guardian and Trustee of Ontario; Head of the Review of Certain Practices in New Brunswick Correctional Institutions; and Crown Counsel with the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General. He began his career as a Correctional and Psychiatric Services Investigator with the Ombudsman of Ontario.
Jay is a member of the Law Society of British Columbia, and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2006.
The Ombudsperson’s office is located on the unceded traditional lands of the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) Peoples and ancestors and our work extends across the homelands of the Indigenous Peoples within what we now call British Columbia. We honour the many territorial keepers of the lands and waters where we work.
