“The Ombudsman favoured the public over the public service in her investigations.”

This quote was registered as a complaint, noted by a research team from Ryerson University who recently interviewed a bunch of city staff members about the performance of ombudsman Fiona Crean. It was listed among the generally positive comments in their report (which, it bears noting, was co-written with Crean herself).

It was intended as a complaint, but it strikes me as a high compliment. It is the job of the ombudsman “to favour the public” first, foremost, and always; she’s been our advocate at city hall, our watchdog against the politicians and the bureaucracy, against indifference and abuse and corruption.

Fiona Crean has done that job — and done it well, I think — since the office of the ombudsman was created in 2009, and on Monday she surprised everyone by announcing she would leave the post when her contract expires in November rather than seek reappointment. Perhaps she’s fulfilled the watchdog role too well, and made too many enemies.

In her statement, she noted that city council had refused to give her office enough staff to handle the work she faces (a 22 per cent increase in the volume of complaints last year; up 129 per cent in total since 2009). She had asked for six new staff members; they gave her funding for one. She said she anticipated the debate over her reappointment, scheduled for next week, would be “divisive, and I feel this will hurt the office, and its efforts to ensure fairness for the city’s residents.”

This is a sorry statement about accountability at city hall, that the mayor’s office and council refuse to properly fund her office and planned not to extend her contract.

Was she good at the work? Well, as she noted in her farewell remarks, since she took the job in 2009, “Council has endorsed every one of my recommendations.”

Those recommendations, and the investigations that produced them, have been an important service to the people of Toronto.

Just to revisit some highlights:

She exposed the conflicts of interest, favouritism, blatant disregard for hiring rules, and “climate of fear” at TCHC, an investigation that led to CEO Gene Jones’ departure.

She outlined how city-contracted adjusters were routinely denying thousands of legitimate claims for damage reimbursement submitted by the public, and lying to the public about having conducted investigations into those claims — a system in which she concluded “unfairness prevails” amid “shocking examples of poor service.”

She repeatedly decried the plight of senior citizens being evicted from social housing for petty, punitive or unjust reasons, in violation of the city’s own policies, causing “substantial harm” to these vulnerable residents.

In various reports, she told of how TTC staff displayed a “callous disregard” for residents; revealed that Toronto Water appeared to be astronomically overbilling some customers; outlined the seven-year odyssey of one resident over the issue of basement flooding that Crean characterized as showing “inertia, incompetence, and a complete failure on the part of many public servants to take responsibility for their work.”

She has not minced words. Unlike the polysyllabic bafflegab of bureaucrats and the impenetrable boring blab of politicians, Crean writes her reports in language you and I have a hope of understanding. That in itself has made her enemies: Councillor James Pasternak (open James Pasternak's policard) complained of “unnecessarily harsh language.”

Given the things she was writing about — the city ripping people off, lying to them, unfairly turfing them from their homes, and so on — this genteel concern for blunt language tells you all you need to know about the priorities and mindset of her critics. She has worked, and written, on behalf of regular people. Anyone who’s any good at a job like that will tend to annoy powerful people.

The Ford rump on council, who sometimes found themselves in her crosshairs, hated her. The left of council liked her. I don’t have the behind-the-scenes details, but it’s obvious enough from out here in the cheap seats that if Mayor John Tory (open John Tory's policard) was a full-throated supporter, willing to back Crean (and bring members of his team, such as Pasternak, Denzil Minnan-Wong (open Denzil Minnan-Wong's policard), Jaye Robinson (open Jaye Robinson's policard) and Michelle Berardinetti (open Michelle Berardinetti's policard), along with him), she’d be staying.

Clearly she had come to believe that wouldn’t happen. Tory issued a statement lauding her “gusto and determination” but has recently publicly proclaimed her unpopularity among councillors and mused about merging her office into another department.

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It’s sad. Of the accountability offices created in the wake of the MFP computer-leasing corruption scandal, it is the ombudsman whose job it is to take complaints from the public and investigate them.

Crean has been our woman on the inside, trying to make the city work better for me and you and all the regular people. She’s the one member of the government charged with “favouring the public” above all other considerations.

Fiona Crean has done that. She’s done it well enough to make powerful enemies. Some people may think that’s a complaint, but for a watchdog like her, it’s a high compliment.

Edward Keenan writes on city issues. ekeenan@thestar.ca . Follow: @thekeenanwire

Meet Your Accountability Officers

There are four accountability officers charged with monitoring ethics at city hall, each with a different function:

Auditor-General: Follows the money to ensure city council is providing "quality of stewardship over public funds." Jeffrey Griffiths served in the role from 2002-2014. Beverly Romeo-Beehler, who now holds the job, reported last month that her office is short-staffed and will seek more funding next year.

Integrity Commissioner: Monitors the city council code of conduct, providing ethics advice to politicians and policing their behaviour. Former Integrity Commissioner Janet Leiper made news with her conflict-of-interest reports on Mayor Rob Ford (the aftermath of one almost saw him removed from office). Valerie Jepson was appointed to the role last fall, and has given advice to Mayor John Tory on conflicts of interest regarding his and his family’s many business holdings.

Ombudsman: The public advocate who investigates residents' complaints about unfairness or inequitable treatment from the government. Fiona Crean has held the job since it was created in 2009, and one of her investigations played a starring role (though a confused one) in Don Cherry’s speech at Rob Ford’s mayoral inauguration. She announced Monday she would not seek to renew her term.

Lobbyist Registrar: Tracks influence by monitoring and publicly disclosing the lobbying activities of those trying to influence city decisions. Linda Gehrke has held the job since it was created in 2008. In 2013, she tried unsuccessfully to have lobbying at night banned after an incident where Councillor Ana Bailao was arrested for driving drunk after a night out with lobbyists. Gehrke has repeatedly complained about her inability to discipline lobbyists who break rules.

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