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Randall Denley: Farewell to Ontario's sleepy government watchdog. Now we need an aggressive one

If Paul Dubé's name doesn’t sound familiar, don’t blame yourself

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If the name doesn’t sound familiar, don’t blame yourself. Dubé spent a decade as Ontario’s ombudsman, but he was a fellow so low-profile as to be nearly invisible, despite earning a salary of more than $400,000, with an office budget larger than that of the province’s auditor general.

Randall Denley: Farewell to Ontario's sleepy government watchdog. Now we need an aggressive one Back to video

Now the province is searching for a replacement. Surely, it can do better.

The ombudsman’s job is a big and important one, sticking up for ordinary Ontarians who are having problems with the government and broader public sector. It involves dealing with individual complaints, but more importantly, digging into systemic issues where government is falling short. The job calls for a crusader with top investigative skills and knowledge of how to attract the public and media attention that can force government to do better.

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