The Ontario government is rife with “puffery” as government departments promise the world, then fail to deliver, according to the second annual report of the provincial ombudsman.

Ontario Ombudsman André Marin on Wednesday lamented the “puffery” exposed by his scrutiny of the government, saying the litany of organizations make grandiose promises but don't follow through.

If that continues, it will undermine public confidence in its institutions, he warned.

“I was tempted to label this one ‘The Year of Over-promising and Under-delivering',” Mr. Marin said as he released his report.

“On the one hand, the actions of a ministry, agency, board or commission are decried as shabby or incompetent. On the other, the reaction from the organization is to sideline the issue and proclaim itself ‘world class', or an ‘international leader' — as if erecting a sign saying ‘I'm the best and the greatest' will assuage those who have suffered from neglect and maladministration.”

This is creating “legions of disillusioned citizens” who see what is “a disingenuous smokescreen”, he said.

The Ombudsman's 2006-2007 report reviewed many investigations into government systems and organizations that failed to deliver on public promises, regardless of what party was in charge.

That included the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, the Family Responsibility Office, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.

“The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation bragged that it was a ‘global leader in property assessment' – until our investigation found it was actually an arrogant, cutthroat agency with little regard for homeowners,” Mr. Marin said.

Other bodies were “callously ignoring” the suffering of Ontarians, he said.

Still, the public response to his reports had been “phenomenal” and all recommendations made in those reviews have been accepted, Mr. Marin said.

Mr. Marin also praised the government for resolving several serious complaints, including reimbursing a cancer patient $76,000 in treatment costs and increasing funding for mental health services for children of soldiers killed or wounded in Afghanistan.

But he made particular note that crucial aspects of government remain out of the ombudsman's sight, despite the provincial watchdogs fighting for access for 30 years.

The ombudsman's office responded to more than 20,200 complaints in 2006-07.

Mr. Marin said 2,395 of those dealt with municipalities, universities, school boards, hospitals and long-term care facilities, police and children's aid societies.

Yet the Ombudsman has no powers to help them, Mr. Marin said.

“These areas consume the bulk of provincial budgets, and more importantly, they represent the most serious contacts that Ontarians can have with their government,” he said.

And the government had ignored opportunities to change that situation, he said, leaving thousands of Ontarians with no recourse to an independent, investigative body in “critically important” areas of their lives.

“Institutions that receive funds from the province to perform a public duty should be subject to the full panoply of checks and balances,” Mr. Marin said.

The Ombudsman will answer questions about the report from the public in an online chat on Thursday, June 28, at 1 p.m. To register, go to www.ombudsman.on.ca