On the hook

A woman who runs a commercial fishing business complained that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry had not responded to her request for a refund of more than $31,000 she had overpaid in Crown lease fees over several years. She also complained that she had been waiting since 2015 for the Ministry to schedule a hearing to increase her fishing quotas. Ombudsman staff contacted the Ministry to discuss the issues and shortly thereafter, the woman received her refund, along with an explanation that the hearing delay was partly due to a shortage of qualified hearing officers. The Ministry noted that it was in the process of hiring more officers and provided the woman with a point of contact for further inquiries.