The Ombudsman receives the concerns and complaints filed by members of the Mila community who believe they are the victims of injustice, misconduct, or violation of their rights. The Ombudsman can at any point attempt to resolve issues informally. Members have to exhaust all internal mechanisms, procedures, and resources at their disposal before the ombudsman intervenes. The Ombudsman reports directly to the Board of Directors of Mila.
The Ombudsman Office is confidential, impartial, independent, and open to all members of the Mila community.
Julie Boncompain has been Mila’s Ombudsman since December 1st, 2020. A lawyer in practice for the last 19 years who has developed particular expertise in dispute prevention and resolution (DRP) as well as conflict management in the areas of education, labor and business law.
Me Boncompain has been acting as the Protector of Rights (Ombudsman) at Polytechnique Montréal since 2020 and has undertaken mediation and arbitration mandates for non-profit organizations, private and para-public companies as a consultant. She is on the Executive Committee of the Association of Canadian College and University Ombudspersons (ACCUO) since 2019 and chairs the Association des Ombudsman des Universités du Québec (AOUQ) since 2020.
The Ombudsman is available to all members of the Mila community. The Ombudsman’s mandate is to ensure fair and equitable treatment by the administration of all situations experienced by members of the Mila community. She can advise, refer, expedite, identify and propose solutions at any time in a case.
She may only intervene in an ongoing process or review a decision when all internal Mila channels, mechanisms, processes, and resources have been exhausted.
For any admissible complaint, the Ombudsman may conduct an investigation and intervene with stakeholders and decision-makers likely to be able to contribute to the resolution of the situation. To this end, she has access to all documents and information she may require for the investigation and may make recommendations to the concerned stakeholders and decision-makers at the end of an investigation.
The Ombudsman’s mission is to provide an independent, impartial and judgment-free space for Mila members to voice concerns or issues they feel are unfair and unjust, or if they are the victims of injustice, misconduct, or a violation of their rights.
You can contact the Ombudsman when:
The Ombudsman’s Office serves all members of the Mila ecosystem with respect and compassion, including students, supervision candidates, interns, researchers, faculty, staff, and management.
We promote a collaborative and preventative approach in the treatment of your case and will listen to you with respect.
The Ombudsman can:
The Ombudsman cannot:
Keep to the facts of the case without partisanship as objectively as possible, based on the principles of natural justice and fairness.
Protect against any bias that would lead to a misinterpretation of the facts in question.
Maintain the confidentiality of the person using our services unless this responsibility is waived by an explicit appeal at the request of the applicant.
The Ombudsman submits an annual report to the Board of Directors once a year.
This report describes the issues that the Ombudsman dealt with during the past year and the shortcomings that the Ombudsman had the opportunity to observe. The report also includes any recommendations that the Ombudsman deems useful to make to the Board in order to address the identified shortcomings and inequities.