History of the Commendations

About the Ombudsman’s Commendations

In 2002, our Office presented the first Ombudsman’s Commendations to recognize excellence in ethics and complaint resolution in the Defence community.

The Ombudsman’s Commendation for Ethics recognized individuals or groups who exercised exemplary ethics in a manner that brought pride to the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Department of National Defence (DND). We replaced this award in 2006 with the Ombudsman’s Special Recognition Award. This award better reflected our Office’s mission: contributing to substantial and long-lasting improvements in the Defence community.

The Ombudsman’s Commendation for Complaint Resolution recognized individuals or groups in the Defence community who demonstrated exceptional problem-solving and complaint resolution skills. In 2006, we renamed this award as the Liz Hoffman Memorial Commendation for Complaint Resolution.

In 2011, we merged the two awards into one: the Liz Hoffman Memorial Commendation for Complaint Resolution. This award is now called the Liz Hoffman Memorial Commendation.

About Liz Hoffman

Liz Hoffman was a key member of the Office of the Ombudsman since its beginning in 1998. She was a mentor to many new investigators and an inspiration to a number of longer-serving members. She was also a tremendous force for positive change for the men and women of the CAF as well as DND civilian employees. In her time with us, Liz helped to ensure fair treatment for hundreds of members of the Defence community.

Her deeply-rooted sense of fairness and social justice led to a career as Ombudsperson with several academic institutions: Carleton University, the University of Toronto, Ryerson Polytechnic University, and the Ontario College of Art and Design. Her dedication also encouraged her to serve as a founding member of the Association of Canadian College and University Ombudspersons as well as the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman (FCO).

Liz dedicated her life to the ideals espoused by the Office of the Ombudsman. Therefore, it was fitting that we renamed the prestigious Ombudsman’s Commendation for Complaint Resolution in her honour in 2006.