Andre Marin
is a
lawyer
who served as
Ontario ombudsman
from 2005 to 2015.
Personal
[
edit
]
Marin is a graduate of
Carleton University
(BA 1985) and
University of Ottawa
(LLL 1988, JD 1989).
[1]
Career
[
edit
]
After graduating from
law school
, Marin became an assistant
Crown Attorney
in
Ottawa, Ontario
in 1991 and taught law part-time in Ottawa.
[2]
[3]
From September 1996 until June 1998, he served as the Director of Ontario's
Special Investigations Unit
(SIU).
[2]
[3]
During his tenure at the SIU, the office initiated over 300 investigations, laid 5 charges resulting from those investigations and obtained no convictions.
[4]
In June 1998, Marin was appointed as Canada's first military ombudsman for complaints from members of the
Canadian Armed Forces
.
[2]
[3]
[5]
Ombudsman of Ontario
[
edit
]
On April 1, 2005, Marin was appointed as
Ombudsman of Ontario
by the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
.
[2]
[3]
On June 1, 2010, he was reappointed to a second five-year term ending on May 31, 2015.
In March 2007, Marin's office released a
report
on the province's conduct in regards to the
Ontario lottery retailer fraud scandal
.
[6]
[7]
In December 2010, Marin's office released a report on the province's conduct in regard to the
2010 G-20 Toronto summit
.
[8]
Marin said that it was "illegal" for the government to pass secret regulations allowing for the detaining of protesters during the
summit protests
.
[8]
In October 2013, he released a report criticizing
London, Ontario
mayor
Joe Fontana
and city councilors for a secret meeting at a restaurant where they discussed city business.
[9]
The councilors and mayor denied the report.
[9]
In November 2014, Marin released a report that was critical of the Liberal government, calling it 'systematic government ineptitude" that led to the deaths of four children in unlicensed home daycares.
[10]
[11]
The investigation was prompted after a 2-year-old child died in an unlicensed daycare in
Vaughan
.
[10]
Marin issued 113 recommendations, and called on the province to take urgent action.
[10]
[11]
Office issues and expenses
[
edit
]
A 2006 report for the Canadian
Department of National Defence
found Marin had created a dysfunctional workplace at his office during his tenure, with multiple complaints and staff departures.
[12]
In 2010, the
Toronto Star
investigated human rights and labour complaints made by staff under Andre Marin's tenure.
[13]
Current and former staff members complained of a culture of fear and harassment.
[13]
A number of complaints were filed against the ombudsman, the office and his management team with the
Ontario Human Rights Tribunal
and the union.
[14]
Marin had called the allegations "absurd" and stated he had "high expectations" for his employees.
[13]
In 2010,
The Globe and Mail
publicized some of the expenses Marin billed to taxpayers, including his personal grooming products, a $38 toothbrush and a $2,000 flat screen TV for his Ottawa home.
[16]
The
Star
also reported that Marin used the office's corporate services director to pick-up his dry cleaning and keep an eye on Marin's maid when she cleaned his Toronto condo.
[16]
[17]
[18]
In April 2015, Marin's expenses came under scrutiny again when the
National Post
revealed Marin had billed Ontario taxpayers an average of $14,800 in three months for housing expenses so he could maintain residences in both Toronto and Ottawa, sometimes spending more than $2,000 a month in rent while in Toronto. It is estimated Marin billed taxpayers $592,000 in housing since being appointed in 2005.
[19]
Extending term
[
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]
On May 28, 2015, the
Ontario Legislature
voted to extend Marin's term as ombudsman until September 14 to allow him to wrap-up investigations. Over 60 people applied to become Ontario's next ombudsman, including Marin.
[20]
On September 14, 2015, a motion to grant Marin a second extension was defeated in the Legislature.
[21]
On April 15, 2016, Marin sued the Ontario government for wrongful dismissal.
[22]
[23]
Marin claimed to have been fired without cause or notice when he was not rehired for a third term,.
[24]
The
Ontario Superior Court of Justice
ruled against Marin.
[25]
Later career
[
edit
]
After leaving office, Marin began teaching part-time in the
University of Ottawa
's faculty of law and writing a column for the
Ottawa Sun
and
Toronto Sun
.
[26]
He stopped writing the column in December, 2019.
[27]
In 2020, Marin was hired by
People's Party of Canada
leader
Maxime Bernier
to represent him in a lawsuit filed against political strategist
Warren Kinsella
alleging Kinsella was hired by the
Conservative Party of Canada
to run a pre-election campaign of
defamation
against Bernier.
[28]
The court dismissed the suit in November 2021.
[29]
Politics
[
edit
]
On September 24, 2016, Marin was named the
Progressive Conservative
candidate for the November 2016 by-election in
Ottawa?Vanier
.
[30]
He was defeated by Liberal candidate
Nathalie Des Rosiers
by a 19-point margin, the best performance by a Progressive Conservative candidate in the riding for fifty years. In remarks given after his defeat, Marin warned that party leader
Patrick Brown
had to put social conservatives "in their place" because they are "a threat to the party" that might cost them the
42nd Ontario general election
.
[31]
Electoral record
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Marin, Andre.
"Andre Marin on about.me"
.
about.me
. Retrieved
2016-10-26
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Canadian Who's Who 2011
.
Orillia
, Ontario: Third Sector Publishing. 2011. p.
792
.
ISBN
978-0-921173-27-4
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Hyson, Stewart, ed. (2009).
Provincial and Territorial Ombudsman Offices in Canada
. University of Toronto Press. p. 200.
ISBN
978-1-4426-4067-2
.
- ^
"Ontario ombudsman wrong person to lead SIU probe, critics say"
.
National Post
.
- ^
Taylor, Scott (May 6, 2015).
"Back to square one on sex abuse in the military"
.
NOW Magazine
. Retrieved
October 17,
2018
.
- ^
"Lotteries: A Game of Trust"
. Archived from
the original
on 2016-09-27
. Retrieved
2016-09-24
.
- ^
"Ont. lottery fraud suits urged by ombudsman"
.
- ^
a
b
Ferguson, Robert Benzie and Rob (2010-12-07).
"Ombudsman Andre Marin has recommended that the little-known 1939 legislation should be revised and protocols developed so the public is made aware when police powers are modified"
.
The Toronto Star
.
ISSN
0319-0781
. Retrieved
2015-10-23
.
- ^
a
b
Brennan, Richard J. (2013-10-22).
"Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin's has found a secret meeting of the mayor and six London, Ont. city council members was a betrayal of public trust"
.
The Toronto Star
.
ISSN
0319-0781
. Retrieved
2015-10-23
.
- ^
a
b
c
Monsebraaten, Laurie; Oved, Marco Chown (2014-10-22).
"Andre Marin issued an unprecedented 113 recommendations, and calls the case of 2-year-old Eva Ravikovich's death in a 'brazenly illegal' daycare, the 'canary in the coal mine.'
"
.
The Toronto Star
.
ISSN
0319-0781
. Retrieved
2015-10-23
.
- ^
a
b
"Ontario's unlicensed daycares require 'urgent action': ombudsman Andre Marin"
.
Toronto Sun
. Retrieved
2015-10-23
.
- ^
Bruser, David; Welsh, Moira (June 2, 2010).
"Andre Marin left dysfunction and discontent as military ombudsman"
.
Toronto Star
.
Archived
from the original on 2015-02-20
. Retrieved
February 28,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
Welsh, Moira; Bruser, David (May 28, 2010).
"Staff say Ombudsman Andre Marin's Office Plagued by Culture of Fear"
.
Toronto Star
. Retrieved
1 February
2015
.
- ^
"Lam v. Ontario Ombudsman, 2009 HRTO 1261"
.
CanLII
. Retrieved
5 August
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Howlett, Karen; Radawanski, Adam (August 23, 2012).
"Tables are turned as Ontario Ombudsman's expenses come under scrutiny"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
4 February
2015
.
- ^
"Public Sector Salary Disclosure 2009"
.
Ontario Ministry of Finance
. Retrieved
4 February
2015
.
- ^
Bruser, David (July 11, 2010).
"Andre Marin gave contracts to friend starting in 2001"
.
Toronto Star
. Retrieved
18 February
2015
.
- ^
Csanady, Ashley (22 April 2015).
"Why are taxpayers forking over hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Ontario ombudsman's pricey commute?"
.
National Post
. Retrieved
3 April
2021
.
- ^
Ferguson, Rob (May 28, 2015).
"Ontario ombudsman Andre Marin's job extended"
.
Toronto Star
. Retrieved
1 June
2015
.
- ^
"Motion to extend Ontario ombudsman Andre Marin's term denied"
. City News. Sep 14, 2015
. Retrieved
14 September
2015
.
- ^
"Former Ombudsman Andre Marin suing for wrongful dismissal"
.
CP24
. 15 April 2016
. Retrieved
2016-04-15
.
- ^
Csanady, Ashley (April 14, 2016).
"Ex-Ontario ombudsman sues for wrongful dismissal, says Wynne's office orchestrated public humiliation"
. National Post
. Retrieved
3 April
2021
.
- ^
"Ex-ombudsman Andre Marin ordered to pay $68K in legal fees after failed lawsuit"
.
CBC News
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
Jones, Allison (March 16, 2017).
"Court disisses lawsuit from former ombudsman Andre Marin"
.
CP24
.
The Canadian Press
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
Reevely, David (24 September 2016).
"Former ombudsman Andre Marin wants to run for Progressive Conservatives in Ottawa-Vanier"
.
Ottawa Citizen
.
- ^
"MARIN: Scheer's message lost in fog of war | Toronto Sun"
. 2019-12-14
. Retrieved
2019-12-15
.
- ^
Curry, Bill (9 December 2020).
"Maxime Bernier hires former ombudsman to prepare legal action against Warren Kinsella over racism claims"
. The Globe and Mail.
- ^
"Maxime Bernier's defamation lawsuit against political pundit dismissed by Ontario court"
.
- ^
"Former ombudsman Andre Marin wants to run for Conservatives in Ottawa-Vanier"
.
Toronto Sun
. Retrieved
2016-10-26
.
- ^
Platt, Brian (November 18, 2016).
"Social conservatives a 'threat' to Ontario PCs, says Andre Marin after byelection loss"
.
Ottawa Citizen
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
"Internet Application - Search Candidates"
. Elections Ontario.
External links
[
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]