Ontario not to renew Marin's contract

Ontario's Liberal government, frequently on the receiving end of Ombudsman Andre Marin's criticism, says it will not renew Mr. Marin's contract, although he's free to reapply for his job.

Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the move yesterday, telling reporters the ombudsman's job as well as that of Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller will be open for competition.

"There's a lot of Ontarians that are interested in those jobs," Mr. McGuinty said. "And I think the fair thing to do in the circumstances going forward is to have an opportunity for folks who already have these jobs to reapply and for others who are interested on the outside to get a shot at this as well."

Opposition critics were skeptical of Mr. McGuinty's explanation.

"Mr. Marin scares the daylights out of the Liberal government," said New Democrat MPP Peter Kormos. "He's an extremely effective ombudsman, an extremely powerful one. He's very knowledgeable, skilful. And what he's done is made the role of ombudsman the subject of discussions around the water cooler. He's made it popular, he's made people interested in it. The government sees that as a dangerous thing."

Conservative MPP Christine Elliott echoed that criticism, saying Mr. Marin's made Mr. McGuinty "more uncomfortable than he can handle."

"I think that's why we see the present action being taken," she said.

Mr. Marin, an Ottawa native, was appointed to a five-year term as ombudsman in April 2005.

He immediately began attacking his task with zeal. In his five years on the job he has issued 16 special reports with colourful titles such as From Hope to Despair, Too Cool for School and A Game of Trust.

The latter exposed a rash of insider wins at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, sending that troubled organization into a tailspin from which it has yet to recover.