Ombudsman job enjoyed by former Brandonite

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Irene Hamilton grew up in a Brandon family in which her father was a lawyer and later a judge and she is now married to a criminal defence lawyer. Hamilton is in the latter stages of a six-year term as Ombudsman in Manitoba.

Brandon native Irene Hamilton, who has been surrounded by the law profession her entire life, is in her fourth segment as a Manitoba lawyer and if it were up to her, the Ombudsman’s job she currently has might be a perfect way to end her career.

Hamilton, whose father Al was a lawyer and judge and whose husband is a criminal defence lawyer, has been a member of the Manitoba bar for 30 years this month. She was appointed Manitoba’s Ombudsman in 2005 and her six-year term expires in March, 2011. By law, she may have her appointment renewed for one additional six-year term and it’s something she hopes will happen.

“I really enjoy the job,” said Hamilton, who has a 16-year-old son whom she thinks will pursue studies in the chemistry field. “There’s something new every day.”

The purpose of the Ombudsman is to investigate complaints from people who feel they have received a raw deal by government departments or agencies. Manitoba’s first Ombudsman was appointed in 1970 and Hamilton is the fourth person to serve in that office — and the first woman.

“Equal representation of all types of groups in the community is important, so I certainly fit within the gender representation,” said Hamilton, a graduate of Vincent Massey and who plans to attend the school’s 50th anniversary reunion July 2-4.

As Ombudsman, Hamilton plays the role of perhaps the fairest person in Manitoba. She and her office go to bat for regular citizens against big government and if big government has acted poorly, she has the power to slap its wrists and make things right.

Thirty people are employed in the Ombudsman’s department — 27 in Winnipeg and three in Brandon. Both offices receive complaints and do investigative work. A good chunk of the complaints received are through the justice department, and many of them are from people confined to correctional centres.

All complaints received by her office are deemed to be important, says Hamilton. “A lot of things might appear to be not particularly significant, but it depends on the person’s circumstances,” she said. “So for example, if someone’s in jail and is relying on the government for meeting all of their needs 24 hours a day, something that might appear to be not significant might be very significant to that person. Like they can’t get to see a dentist or doctor.”

Inmates’ medical issues that aren’t being addressed are seen as “very serious complaints,” said Hamilton, who has been in the legal administration field her whole career, first with the Liquor Control Commission, then with Public Trustee’s office in Manitoba and then as assistant deputy minister in the Department of Justice.

Complaints against Manitoba Public Insurance are not unusual, nor are complaints about a citizen’s treatment in a matter involving their municipal government.

There are limits to her office’s powers, however: “We can’t review a decision of the cabinet or the Legislative Assembly,” she said. “Likewise, on the municipal level, we can’t review complaints about a bylaw of a policy nature.”

How those bylaws are implemented, however, is something her office could investigate.

Overall, says Hamilton, the various levels of government and their agencies treat people well.

Generally, governments treat people well, said Hamilton. “Public service wants to do a good job.”

“(The Ombudsman is) the last resort,” she said. “If there are other appeal processes, we supply people with assistance how to use those mechanisms. We encourage them to use those mechanisms before they come to us.”

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