Press Release

Monday, July 22, 2019

The Office of the Commissioner Renamed the Office of the Ombud

At its June 8 meeting, the Board of Governors decided to replace the terms “Commissioner” and “Office of the Commissioner” by “Ombud” and “Office of the Ombud”, respectively.

In February 2018, Johanne Savoie was appointed Commissioner by the Board of Governors. Ms. Savoie reports directly to the Board of Governors and her main function is to receive complaints from members of the university community who, despite having exhausted the internal processes available to them, still believe that their rights have been violated.

As Commissioner, Ms. Savoie presented the first Annual Report of the Office of the Commissioner at the Board of Governors meeting on June 8. The Report contains details, statistics and data concerning the work of the Office of the Commissioner in 2018-2019, as well as five recommendations, including the one to change the title. “We believe that this new title better reflects the role played by this position,” according to Edith Doucet, Chair of the Board of Governors.

The other recommendations in the Annual Report involve subjects as varied as the hiring process, preparing a policy and a strategy on intercultural diversity, designing a Code of Students’ Rights and Responsibilities and creating a shared file for students.

“The appropriate authorities will analyze all of the recommendations contained in this first Report in the coming months, and afterwards we will begin an implementation process,” Ms. Doucet explained.

The full Report is online.


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