-In the recently publish- ed 1986 annual report of _- the B.C, Ombudsman to the legislature the Ministry .of Social -Services and Housing (MSSH) was ‘shown to. have drawn more complaints than any other provincial govern- ment ministry, agency,. board or crown corpora- tion. _ Of the 11,012 inquiries and complaints handled by the office of the Om- budsman last year, 1,603 were directed at MSSH,- an average of between four and five contacts dai- ly. Of those complaints, - two were ‘substantiated and corrected after recom- mendations from the Om- budsman, 660 were resoiv- ed during investigation, 311. were unsubstantiated, 386 were withdrawn, and -244 were in the nature of inquiries rather than com- plaints. Runner-up on the dis- satisfaction list was the Ministry of the Attorney General with 997 contacts, . most of which seemed to be regarding the Correc- tions Branch, ‘Workers’ Compensation Board came in third with - - Moters in provincial ‘elections: will no longer be able.to.register at the polls on. election day under the terms of a bill recently in- troduced in ‘the B.C. ‘legislature, The proposed - amendments to the Elec- tion Act will: instead provide an additional registration period during election campaigns. Bil'. 28, brought for- ward by -Provincial Secretary Elwood Veitch, will also allow disabled and shut-in. voters to - register and submit their ‘ballots by mail and. changes residency.require- _ ment for provincial elec- tors from a minimum of 12 months in Canada to a minimum six months in B.C. In a statement issued when the legislation was introduced, Veitch termed the polling-day registra- tions ‘‘clearly an abuse of the system’’, noting that in some districts up to 83 percent of the last-minute “registrations were entered ‘by voters who were already registered in another riding. Under later questioning, how- ever, he reportedly admit- ted there-is no evidence of anyone, casting two votes - in separate ridings. 18. Terrace Review — Wednesday, Ju ‘SOCIAL SERVICES COMPLAINTS __ The cae 774 contacts. At the bottom of the list were the B.C. Develop- ‘ment Corporation, The Environmental Appeal ‘Board, and the Ministries of Tourism,. International ‘Trade; and Industry and Small Business, each of which was the subject. of fewer than four com- plaints. an Ombudsman Stephen - ‘Owen, in his first year at “the post, said the .com- ' plaints generated 3,500 full investigations with 60 percent being resolved to. the complainant's §satis- faction, 39 percent deter- © mined to be unsub- stantiated, and one per- cent remaining un- . resolved. Owen highlighted the following changes in gov- ernment policy and administrative procedure that came about as a result of his office’s ac- tions: - @ Policies on the seizure and sale of goods by sher- iffs will be clarified after . marine equipment valued at $20,000 was seized from © a B.C. man while he was’ absent and sold to pay off Election Act =| ‘changes alter |Z registration rules registrations for a ten-day period after an election.is’ called and for an addi- tional six-day period after — | nominations: close. B.C. Chief Returning Officer _Harry Goldberg. pointed out in-an inter-: |~ ” view that under the | ~ amended act, assuming a four-year period between - elections, there would on- ly be 12 working days dur- - ing which registration . would be closed: One of those days would be poll- |. § ing day. te Goldberg also ‘indicated Section 80 voters who change ridings after the — enumeration will vote on regular rather than special ballots, a change intended. to speed up the vote- counting process and eliminate delays ‘in final results. Other Section 80 ‘voters, such as .absentee voters,. will continue to . mark special ballots. Enumerations will take place in the third year — after an election instead of the second year under Bill 28, an amendment design- _ ed to provide more ac- curate voting lists, and the enumerations will be done in May instead .of September. . Opposition critics have objected to the elimina- tion of voting-day regis- Phe ‘amendments, pres- . tration, saying it places | ently'in the first-reading ~ another obstacle between committee stage in— the. legislature, will. allow. “the public and the ballot 024, 1987° WER Geb ort en ; E: y Ag . result of. an: investigation by the. Ombudsnian the - man was compensated for . the loss. cs @ Court Services will en- Sure that ‘handicapped ‘people are given all re- quired assistance to reach courtrooms, = = 8 @ Adolescents will be given. the: same appeal Tights .as adults with regard :to social services -income, assistance bene- fits. @ The Ministry of legal. questions regarding unsatisfactory repair work on_ claimants’ vehicles, . and ICBC will also at- tempt’ to clarify who Should contract for abour will draft amend- - .Ments to the Employment - Standards Act to make the oe deadline for filing: com- plaints more flexible. - -@ People who don’t speak either of the official languages will be allowed to. use translators when taking written examina- ‘tions. for B.C. drivers licenses. . @ The- Insurance Corp- oration of B.C. will review. ER the corporation. «©. -- @ The Ministry of Social Services and Housing _ agreed to alter its policies’ on the manner in which: Unemployment Insurance benefits and. Workers’ Compensation payments are. deducted from social assistance. allowances. - @ The Workers’ -Com- pensation Board is review-. ing definitions of compen- . sability related to injuries sustained ‘‘in’’ and “out”? Of the course of employ-_ ment. .— _ ; Figures. in Owen’s repairs, the claimant .or . the: Ombudsman’s office — has: leveled off over: the. past three years at about - 11,000. complaints © after - dramatic increases-in 1981 - and 1982. Owen appears to have adopted a lower- key approach than -pre- decessor Karl Friedmann, as shown by the number of reports filed with government bodies in -1985 Friedmann, - along with: his interim successor Peter: Bazowski, filed /13 reports to Cabinet, 7 reports to the legislature and.one public report;.in . . 1986 Owen filed.two Cabinet reports. report indicate activity in ‘ _ delivered every week. | A full year: $24.00 _ ‘Two years: $45.00 -... Come into ouroffice, |f . or send a cheque or jf : “Terrace Review 4535 Greig Ave., . 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