Message from the FCO President

On behalf of the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman, welcome to our website!

The Forum of Canadian Ombudsman (FCO) was established in 2001 to be a resource and networking opportunity for various offices and individuals in Canada who provide ombudsman services to their organizations and communities. Our volunteer board of directors represents a cross-section of ombudsman from various geographic regions of Canada. Our membership and the Board include public and private sector representatives from legislative, university and organizational sectors as well as the private sector.

You can find our objects and bylaws elsewhere on this website but, generally stated, the goals of the FCO are to enable our members and others who are interested in ombuds work to enhance our skills and those of our organizations through interaction and educational opportunities. Our hope is to provide support to all our members. We can be an especially valuable resource for smaller and newer ombuds organizations.

We want to be a resource to our members and to advance the concept of ombudsman to the public. If you have a question, call us or e-mail us and we will do our best to either give you the answers you need or refer you to someone who can. There are ombudsman across Canada and we can assist you to make connections with others in your geographic area or others like you who have similar questions, experiences, or interests.

And, we are always looking for volunteers. If you are interested in becoming involved, we have an active committee structure that can offer various interests and levels of involvement. It’s a great way to get your feet wet and to meet interesting people who are doing valuable work.

Finally, let us know how we are doing and, more importantly what we can do to make your experience with the FCO enjoyable and educational.

Thank you.

Kevin Fenwick