It has been 200 years since the first government Ombudsman was appointed in Sweden. Today, there are hundreds of ombudsman offices across the globe.

Ombudsman work has made an impact around the world and here at home. Across Canada, government ombudsman are celebrating this milestone with a special week: October 12 - 16.

Here in Saskatchewan, we have several activities happening during or around Fairness Week:

Talk: "Redefining Fairness and the Roles of the Ombudsman for the 21st Century" (October 13) - Join us for this Fairness Week kick-off talk at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. Speakers are Joe Garcea, Head of the Department of Political Studies, University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Ombudsman Kevin Fenwick. More information...
"Fine Art of Fairness" Workshops for Government (October 7-8, 14-15 & 28-29) - What is fairness and what does the Ombudsman expect of government? Ombudsman Saskatchewan is somewhat unique among Canadian ombudsman in its efforts to train government to be fair - not only through the traditional method of investigating complaints, but also by being proactive. There are three such workshops during October. More information...
Presentations (throughout October) - Ombudsman 101: What kinds of complaints can you take to the Ombudsman? What happens to the complaint after that? Many people will find out more by attending a presentation during or around Fairness Week.
School Contest (Deadline October 5) - Students in grades 9-12 are invited to enter our contest. They can write an essay, create a video, conduct an interview, make a comic book, or use some other creative way of talking about ombudsman work. More information...
New Guide for Tribunals - Administrative tribunals in Saskatchewan, serve thousands of people. Now, tribunal members will have a new resource at their fingertips. The guide takes a practical best-practices approach to a wide range of tribunal work, from helping people understand what to expect from a hearing to making and writing fair decisions.
"Dealing with Unreasonable Complainant Behaviour" Workshop (October 23) - Chris Wheeler, Deputy Ombusman from New South Wales Australia will share strategies for defining, preventing and managing unreasonable complainant behaviour. This workshop is co-hosted by the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman and Ombudsman Saskatchewan and is full. More information...