Paul Dubé to succeed André Marin as next Ontario ombudsman (Toronto Star)

Rob Ferguson Queen's Park Bureau and Robert Benzie, Queen's Park Bureau Chief
Toronto Star
February 16 2016

A new watchdog has been unleashed upon Ontario.

Paul Dubé will succeed André Marin as the next Ombudsman of Ontario, it was announced in the legislature on Tuesday.

All three political parties at Queen’s Park agreed upon the appointment of the independent officer of the legislature.

Dubé, a low-profile lawyer, had served as the federal taxpayers’ ombudsman — responsible for tackling citizens’ disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency — from 2008 until 2014.

His five-year term with the province starts on April 1.

Predecessor Marin had done the job for more than a decade and enjoyed creating a stir and generating headlines.

Always outspoken, he produced numerous hard-hitting reports on a litany of government foibles including cancer care snafus, police misdeeds during the 2010 G20 summit of world leaders and Hydro One billing problems.

It’s been five months since This link opens in a new tab Marin formally left the post that pays $226,390 a year.

The Liberal government didn’t want to grant him a third five-year term after This link opens in a new tab MPPs on the hiring committee reached an impasse on choosing a replacement.

That forced the all-party committee to go back to the drawing board to find someone to fill the position.

This link opens in a new tab Marin ruffled feathers at Queen’s Park last May when his second term was set to expire, taking to Twitter to appeal for support from the public.

“In less than 48 hours, u have no Ombudsman. Time to make your voice heard. Unfortunately it’s come to this. MAKE SOME NOISE PLEASE!” he wrote in one tweet.

At that point, Marin’s term was extended only until mid-September when an interim ombudsman, Barbara Finlay, was named.