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André Marin LLB (born January 12, 1965) is a former Crown Attorney and government employee in Canada. On April 1, 2005 he was appointed as Ombudsman of Ontario by the Ontario Legislative Assembly and was reappointed on June 1, 2010 to a second five-year term ending on May 31, 2015. On May 28, 2015 the Ontario Legislature voted to extend Marin's term until September 14, 2015 while a panel reviews 60 applications from candidates for a new five-year posting.

Career

After graduating from the University of Ottawa's National Program with civil and common law degrees, André Marin worked as an assistant Crown attorney and as a part-time professor of law in Ottawa, Canada.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page).

From September 1996 until June 1998, he served as the Director of Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU).Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page). During his tenure at the SIU, the office initiated over 300 investigations, laid 5 charges resulting from those investigations and obtained no convictions. Marin was sued twice by police officers for malicious prosecution.

In June 1998, André Marin became Canada’s first military Ombudsman, responsible for investigating complaints from members of the Canadian Armed Forces.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page). He created a “Special Ombudsman Response Team” (SORT) which investigated broad systemic issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder among soldiers and compensation for the families of soldiers who are killed or wounded.

A 2006 workplace assessment conducted by the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) and commissioned by Marin's successor, Yves Côté, in the wake of Marin’s seven-year tenure found that he left a dysfunctional workplace, rife with complaints and 150 staff departures. The report found the human resources department under Marin "may actually be contributing to inefficiency in the organization” and that "adversarial investigations were anticipated and encouraged" during Marin's tenure. On Marin’s departure, the report stated that staff expressed “overwhelming relief . . . to see the new leadership take its place.” In 2010, upon learning of the DND’s negative report on Marin’s tenure as the Canadian Military Ombudsman, Marin’s predecessor as Ontario Ombudsman, Clare Lewis, commented that he would not have supported Marin’s appointment.

Public Sector Salary Disclosure

The Ontario “Sunshine List” is released annually and discloses all government employees whose salaries are over $100,000. “Double Gold” means salaries of $200,000 or more.

• Note: Current ombudsman Andre Marin and his executive team set their salaries for themselves.

$177, 493.80 (2004) = Salary of the previous Ombudsman Claire Lewis in his last year in office, 2004 $135,692.38 (2005) = Marin’s starting salary as Ombudsman in 2005. He and his team did not have full control over the Ombudsman’s budget until the following year

$192,565.14 (2006) = Marin’s salary 2006, the first year he had full control over setting his own salary $56, 872.76 (2006) = The amount Marin gave himself as his first raise as Ombudsman

$227,207.69 (2014) = Marin’s salary in 2014, not including his expenses $208,974.00 (2014) = Premier Kathleen Wynne’s salary in 2014

$88,515.31 (2005-2014) = The amount Marin gave himself in raises over 9 of the years in his decade-long tenure as Ombudsman. It does not include 2015.

$8,132.03 (2009-2010) = The amount in salary reduction Marin gave himself when his first term was coming to end and he was seeking reappointment $28,077.52 (2008) = The raise Marin gave himself just before he reduces his salary in 2009 $35,412.35 (2011-2012) = The amount in raises Marin gave himself just after being reappointed to a second term

5 (2004) = Number of Ombudsman staff on the 2004 Sunshine List during Clare Lewis’s last year as ombudsman 17 (2014) = Number of Ontario Ombudsman staff on last year’s Sunshine List under Andre Marin

0 (2004) = Number of Double Gold Ontario Ombudsman staff on the Sunshine list during Clare Lewis’s last year as ombudsman 2 (2014) = Number of Double Gold Ontario Ombudsman staff on the Sunshine List under Marin in 2014 3 (2014) = Number of Ontario Ombudsman staff within $10,000 of Double Gold under Marin in 2014

$723,376.03(2004) = Amount of Ombudsman Ontario salaries on the Sunshine List during Clare Lewis’s last year as ombudsman in 2004 $2,320,372.94 (2014) = (2 million) Total amount of Ombudsman Ontario salaries on last year’s Sunshine List under Marin $1,596,996.91 (2005-2014) = (1 million) Total increase in Ontario Ombudsman salaries on the Sunshine List during Marin’s decade-long tenure as ombudsman

Questions have been raised regarding whether the Legislature could even afford an Ombudsman’s office led by Marin for another 5 years.

Ontario Ombudsman

As Ontario Ombudsman (2005-Present) Marin’s personal expense practices have been the source of controversy. In 2010, the Globe and Mail publicized some of Marin’s claimed expenses, including his personal grooming products, a $38 toothbrush and a $2,000 for a flat screen TV for his Ottawa home. The Star revealled that he had awarded more than $140,000 in untendered contracts to his mentor law professor and now Ontario Court of Justice, David Paciocco to help him write his reports. In April 2015, Marin’s expenses came under scrutiny again for billing Ontario taxpayers an average of $14,800 in three months for housing expenses so he could maintain residences in both Toronto and Ottawa, sometimes spending more than $2,000 a month in rent while in Toronto, with an estimated total $592,000 since being appointed in 2005. Many Ontario Ombudsman staff had similar complaints of Marin as the DND Ombudsman staff. Many human rights and labour complaints have been filed against Marin and his management team and a support group of 35 current and former employees called Coalition Against Discrimination at Ombudsman Ontario (CADOO) was formed during Marin's first term.

Controversies

In 2010, Toronto Star (the Star) investigated human rights and labour complaints made by staff under Andre Marin’s tenure. Current and former staff members complained of a culture of fear and harassment, similar to the staff complaints appearing in the workplace assessment report on Marin after he left the role of Canadian Military Ombudsman in 2006. Due to the number of complaints, the employee union hired an external investigator to interview over 25 employees on instances of discrimination due to race, gender and disability, harassment and forced terminations. A number of complaints were filed against the ombudsman, the office and his management team with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal (OHRT) and the union. Marin continues to battle some of the complaints, paid for by taxpayers.

In 2012, an African-Haitian receptionist at the Ontario Ombudsman’s office filed an OHRT complaint against the office for a poster created by the office’s social committee, including the Ombudsman’s chief legal counsel, Wendy Ray. It depicted a cartoon of white men waving money and a poem suggesting staff could auction themselves off as a “slave for a day” and was circulated to all staff electronically and hard copies placed around the office. 35 current and former Ontario Ombudsman employees formed a support group that is known as Coalition Against Discrimination at Ombudsman Ontario (CADOO).

In 2010, upon learning of the Department of Defence's negative report on Marin’s tenure as the Canadian Military Ombudsman, his predecessor as Ontario Ombudsman, Clare Lewis, commented that he would not have supported Marin’s appointment.

In 2010, the Globe and Mail publicized some of the expenses he billed to taxpayers, including his personal grooming products, a $38 toothbrush and a $2,000 for a flat screen TV for his Ottawa home. The Star also reported that Marin used the office's corporate services director, who’s salary was $142,000 at the time, to pick-up his dry cleaning and keep an eye on Marin’s maid when she cleaned his Toronto condo.

In April 2015, Marin’s expenses came under scrutiny again when the National Post revealed Marin had billed Ontario taxpayers an average of $14,800 in three months for housing expenses so he could maintain residences in both Toronto and Ottawa, sometimes spending more than $2,000 a month in rent while in Toronto. It is estimated he billed taxpayers $592,000 in housing since being appointed in 2005.

Marin has been under scrutiny for awarding more than $140,000 in untendered contracts to his mentor law professor and now Ontario Court of Justice, David Paciocco to help him write his reports.

Lobby Controversy

On May 28, 2015 the Ontario Legislature voted to extend Marin's term as ombudsman for three and half months until September 14, 2015 to allow him to wrap-up investigations. Over 60 people applied to become Ontario's next ombudsman, including Marin and outgoing Toronto ombudsman Fiona Crean. However, the day before his extension was announced, Marin appeared to be nervous he would not be granted an extension as he had expected. He took to Twitter to lobby for his job, which was widely reported by all major news outlets. He was highly criticized for using the official Ombudsman Ontario Twitter account to call on people support his candidacy for the job and for the content of his tweets. His actions were widely seen to have jeopardized his chances of gaining an unprecedented third term with many followers sending Marin negative tweets accusing him "narcissism" and improper use of his office. Opposition House Leader Jim Wilson of the Progressive Conservative Party, commented that Marin's action “probably wasn’t helpful” and "I just don’t think it was a wise move." The National Post wrote "You know something is not right when the watchdog needs a babysitter" and described his actions as "teenagerish." While the Globe & Mail called Marin "daft" and accused him of going "rogue" and of shredding "public respect for himself and his office."

During the social media frenzy that followed, Marin's communications staff used the official Ontario Ombudsman twitter account to re-tweet support and attacks aimed at the Liberal government and Premier Wynne by attacking and blocking opponents. Followers and the media reacted with shock, anger, and disapproval when a sarcastic comment was tweeted under the assumed authority of Marin and aimed at Globe & Mail columnist Adam Radwanski's late father after Radwanski commented that his Twitter feed was being clogged tweets aimed at Marin. There was a similar reaction when he endorsed tweets calling Wynne's government a “banana republic” and another tweet which asked “Who's more corrupt and needs oversight #FIFA or @Kathleen_Wynne?” Andrea Horwath, leader of the Ontario New Democrats was the only MPP to support Marin's Twitter use.

On July 29, 2015, Marin gave a press conference on the release of his 2014-2015 annual report. He was asked 7 questions about his use of Twitter and his behaviour in general including: whether he regretted his aggressive behaviour, if he had learned from his mistakes and "were you tweeting drunk by chance?". Marin responded that the tweets against the Premier "happened erroneously" referring to them as "mistakes" comparing them to those made by the current Pope. Unsatisfied with Marin's persistent refusal to accept responsibility for his, his office's and his communcations staff continual abuse of social media, the media continued their line of questioning to complete the session. Marin reacted with irritation and rather than answering, repeated his earlier statement that it was all, "water under the bridge" and left abruptly. The Ontario Ombudsman Twitter account claims all tweets are made by Andre Marin unless stated otherwise.

References

1. Canadian Who’s Who 2011. Orillia, Ontario: Third Sector Publishing. 2011. p. 792. ISBN 978-0-921173-27-4.
2. ^ Hyson, Stewart, ed. (2009). Provincial and Territorial Ombudsman Offices in Canada. University of Toronto Press. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-4426-4067-2.
3. "Ontario ombudsman wrong person to lead SIU probe, critics say". National Post.
4. ^ Bruser, David; Welsh, Moira (June 2, 2010). "André Marin left dysfunction and discontent as military ombud". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2015-03-06. Retrieved February 28, 2015. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
5. http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/publications/salarydisclosure/2006/ All numbers taken from the Ontario Ministry of Finance’s Public Sector Salary Disclosure webpage
6. ^ Howlett, Karen; Radawanski, Adam (August 23, 2012). "Tables are turned as Ontario Ombudsman's expenses come under scrutiny". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
7. ^ Bruser, David (July 11, 2010). "André Marin gave contracts to friend starting in 2001". Toronto Star. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
8. ^ Csanady, Ashley (22 April 2015). "Why are taxpayers forking over hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Ontario ombudsman's pricey commute?". National Post. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
9. ^ Welsh, Moira; David, Bruser (May 28, 2010). "Staff say Ombudsman André Marin's office plagued by 'culture of fear'". Toronto Star. Retrieved 1 May 2015. Cite error: The named reference "Culture of Fear" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
10. ^ Bruser, David; Welsh, Moira (June 2, 2010). "André Marin left dysfunction and discontent as military ombud". Toronto Star. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
11. "Lam v. Ontario Ombudsman, 2009 HRTO 1261". CanLII. CanLII. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
12. "Foote v. Ombudsman (Ontario), 2008 HRTO 415". CanLII. CanLII. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
13. "Hutchinson v. Ombudsman Ontario, 2012 HRTO 1558". CanLII. CanLII. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
14. "Correia v. Ombudsman (Ontario), 2012 HRTO 501". CanLII. CanLII.
15. "Sudac v. Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario, 2010 HRTO 1744". CanLII. CanLII. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
16. "Jean-Pierre v. Office of the Ontario Ombudsman, 2013 HRTO 1884". CanLII. CanLII.
17. "Public Sector Salary Disclosure 2009". Ontario Ministry of Finance. Ontario Ministry of Finance. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
18. ^ Ferguson, Rob (May 28, 2015). "Ontario ombudsman André Marin's job extended". Toronto Star. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
19. ^ Csanady, Ashley (May 28, 2015). "Ontario Ombudsman tweets his case to keep his job as the competition piles up". National Post. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
20. ^ "National Post View: Something is not quite right when Ontario's watchdog needs a babysitter". National Post. June 1, 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
21. ^ Smith Cross, Jessica (May 28, 2015). "Ontario Ombudsman asks followers to 'make some noise' to help him keep his job". Metro. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
22. ^ "Ontario ombudsman goes rogue. Government smiles". Globe & Mail. May 31, 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
23. ^ Morrow, Adrian (May 28, 2015). "Ontario's Ombudsman starts Twitter flame war as end of term approaches". Globe & Mail. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
24. "Annual Report 2014-2015: Press Conference". You Tube. Ontario Ombudsman. Retrieved 30 July 2015.

External links

• Ombudsman Ontario

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• Franco-Ontarian people
• Ontario civil servants
• Canadian ombudsmen
• 1965 births
• Living people
• University of Ottawa alumni
• Canadian lawyers