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Alberta’s ombudsman and public interest commissioner, Peter Hourihan, is stepping down.

Hourihan told Postmedia on Tuesday there’s no ill will in his decision — merely a wish to spend more time with family and let new hands take the reins as the two offices prepare for some big changes.

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The ombudsman’s role will likely expand to cover municipalities soon, and Hourihan said there’s no better time for someone new to put their mark on the office.

“It will give them a chance to dig into that area with lots of energy and excitement,” he said.

Hourihan was appointed ombudsman in October 2011 for a period of five years, adding Alberta’s first public interest commissioner responsibilities to his plate in 2013.

In 2015, he slammed “gross mismanagement of public funds” in awarding of government contracts, and last year co-authored a report with Alberta’s privacy commissioner, Jill Clayton, that found a lack of oversight after 344 boxes of high-level briefing material and ministerial correspondence were improperly shredded in the days around the 2015 election.