Office of Citizens’ Representative – Newfoundland and Labrador

Address: PO Box 8400, 20 Crosbie Place, 4th Floor, Beothuk Bldg., St. John’s, NL A1B 3N7 

Mandate:

To accept complaints from citizens who feel they have been treated unfairly with respect to their contact with government offices and agencies. The Citizens’ Representative, and staff, will attempt to mediate citizens’ complaints and if this is not possible, will undertake an impartial and unbiased investigation.

Target Population:

All citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Highlights of Programs/Services Offered:

• The Citizens’ Representative has the authority to investigate complaints from individuals who believe they have been treated unfairly by provincial public employees or officials. The Office cannot investigate:
  • the House of Assembly or a committee thereof; the Cabinet; the Executive Council or a committee thereof; a court; judge or a justice of the peace; an arbitrator appointed under the Arbitration Act; any decision where the citizen has a right to appeal to a court or tribunal but has not yet done so or the time for doing so has not expired; a decision by the Access to Information Commissioner; a problem that the Child and Youth Advocate has the power to deal with. 
• It is important to note that the Citizens’ Representative cannot deal with complaints of unfairness that may arise from a citizen’s dealings with the federal or municipal governments. As well the actions of private companies, agencies and individuals are beyond a review by this Office. 
• The Citizens’ Representative can investigate complaints of unfairness filed against the following provincial government departments and agencies. For a complete list of boards and agencies that Office of Citizens Representative can investigate, click here. 
  • Click here to get further information on how the compliant process works when you file a compliant. Click here to view a chart of the breakdown during a compliant process
• FAQS page: to view a list of commonly asked questions and answers you may have click here
• Public Service Forms: click here to view the “request for advice form” & “discourse of wrongdoings form”
• Links
  • Legislation
  • Case Law: past cases that occured in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Publications
  • Resources & Forms
  • New Releases