The 2020 annual reports for Saskatchewan’s Ombudsman and Public Interest Disclosure Commissioner, Mary McFadyen, were tabled in the Legislature today. While some complaints to her Office continued . . .
REGINA Saskatchewan’s Ombudsman believes the use of pepper spray against a Regina inmate was not justified, according to a new report. The pepper spray incident at the Regina Correctional Centre was highlighted in Ombudsman Mary McFadyen’s annual report, which was tabled in the provincial legislature Thursday. The Ombudsman reported that a guard entered the cell of an unruly inmate, who was shredding clothing, and deployed pepper spray without warning. The report said the inmate was then left in his cell for 33 minutes before receiving what should have been immediate medical attention. “They did not have reasonable grounds to use the force of a pepper spray in this situation. He was not resisting,” said McFadyen.
Article content
Saskatchewan’s ombudsman fielded 477 complaints related to COVID-19 last year, as the government coped with a steep learning curve that left inmates, social service clients and many others unsatisfied.
That was 14 per cent of the 3,415 complaints the ombudsman, Mary McFadyen, received over the course of 2020. In her annual report released Thursday, she noted that complaints about long-term care homes and correctional facilities were both up, partly due to a sizeable share of pandemic-related complaints.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or Ombudsman flooded with COVID-related complaints last year Back to video
REGINA Provincial Ombudsman Mary McFadyen released her annual report Thursday afternoon, this year there was a new focus on complaints related to the COVID-19 response and Saskatchewan corrections facilities. When the province declared a state of emergency in March 2020, many public agencies were forced to shift the way they interact with people in Saskatchewan and how they deliver services. In 2020, the Ombudsman received 2,492 complaints that were within its jurisdiction, 477 of those complaints – or 14 per cent – were related to COVID-19. While the pandemic drove complaints against some agencies up, it also resulted in fewer complaints for others. The Ombudsman said in 2020, complaints related to corrections and health services increased, while the Ombudsman saw a decrease in complaints about Social Services, SaskPower and SGI.
Regina / 980 CJME
Apr 29, 2021 | 1:46 PM
COVID-19 precautions went too far for some and not far enough for others who complained about long-term care homes and correctional facilities to Saskatchewan’s ombudsman last year.
Saskatchewan’s ombudsman, Mary McFadyen, explains in her annual report released Thursday that complaints about unfair treatment at long-term care homes and correctional facilities increased in 2020 as the COVID pandemic changed how government services were provided.
Outbreaks were declared in both types of facilities at various points in 2020, which was reflected in when complaints were made during last year.
Correctional facilities
About 100 of the 619 complaints about the Ministry of Corrections and Policing were related to the pandemic. A third of those came in during the first three weeks after Saskatchewan declared a state of emergency on March 18, 2020.