Paul Dube to succeed Andre Marin as next Ontario ombudsman

Federal tax watchdog will succeed Andre Marin as the new full-time Ombudsman of Ontario, it was announced in the legislature on Tuesday.

Thestar.com
Feb. 16, 2016
By Rob Ferguson and Robert Benzie

A new watchdog has been unleashed upon Ontario.

Paul Dube will succeed Andre Marin as the next Ombudsman of Ontario, it was announced in the legislature on Tuesday.

All three political parties at Queen’s Park agreed upon the appointment of the independent officer of the legislature.

Dubé, a low-profile lawyer, had served as the federal taxpayers’ ombudsman - responsible for tackling citizens’ disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency - from 2008 until 2014.

His five-year term with the province starts on April 1.

Predecessor Marin had done the job for more than a decade and enjoyed creating a stir and generating headlines.

Always outspoken, he produced numerous hard-hitting reports on a litany of government foibles including cancer care snafus, police misdeeds during the 2010 G20 summit of world leaders and Hydro One billing problems.

It’s been five months since Marin formally left the post that pays $226,390 a year.

The Liberal government didn’t want to grant him a third five-year term after MPPs on the hiring committee reached an impasse on choosing a replacement.

That forced the all-party committee to go back to the drawing board to find someone to fill the position.

Marin ruffled feathers at Queen’s Park last May when his second term was set to expire, taking to Twitter to appeal for support from the public.

“In less than 48 hours, u have no Ombudsman. Time to make your voice heard. Unfortunately it’s come to this. MAKE SOME NOISE PLEASE!” he wrote in one tweet.

At that point, Marin’s term was extended only until mid-September when an interim ombudsman, Barbara Finlay, was named.