Legal Information/ Legal Briefs
Legal Briefs
Until 2010, these legal briefs provide examples of judgments pertaining to everyday situations. Beginning in 2012, they deal with various topics of general interest, such as rental issues, family law, human rights, civil liability, insurance, dealings between spouses and social aid. They are intended to inform and to prevent undesirable situations.
Legal Briefs 2012
December
Help! I signed something ... and now I regret it!
You’ve just purchased goods from an itinerant merchant (often referred to as a travelling salesman) who interrupted you at home while you were watching your favourite TV show. You regret making the purchase and would like to cancel it. You should know that, under the Consumer Protection Act,<
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November
He wants to sponsor his cuban princess
The Facts
Jean-Claude, a youthful and divorced 60-year-old retiree, is fascinated by Cuban culture, particularly its performing artists. During his first trip to Cuba, three years ago, he met his soul mate, Maria, an outstanding dancer who was 25 years old and sing
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November
Employment insurance and quitting: Are they incompatible?
Employment insurance legislation stipulates that a person cannot receive benefits if they are without a job due to their misconduct or if they voluntarily leave their job without just cause.
If you quit your job, you may still be able to receive benefits if you can prove that, under the circu
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October
The role of the child's lawyer
For a number of years, children have had the right to be represented by a lawyer in youth protection hearings involving them before the Court of Québec, Youth Division.
A lawyer who represents a child in these circumstances cannot simply do as he pleases. There are three situations to consider and each must be approached in a particular way.
The child cannot give a mandate:
When the situation is such that the child cannot be advised by his lawyer, the lawyer is said to hold a legal mandate. In such a situation, the lawyer’s role is to represent the child in connection with the evidence submitted at the various stages of the case, while ensuring the child’s rights are respected and his best interests are represented. The lawyer acts in the name of his young client. To do so, he examines and cross-examines witnesses, presents his ownwitnesses, obtains expert assessments when necessary, listens to the evidence, highlights the most important elements to the court and takes a position with respect to possible solutions. It is then up to the court to rule on litigious issues, based on the court’s powers in the particular case.
The child is able to indicate his wishes and communicate:
In such a situation, the lawyer still holds a legal mandate of the same type as that described above. As in the preceding situation, he can cross-examine witnesses, present his own witnesses, highlight important elements, and so on, provided, however, he does not disclose what the child has confided to him, so as to maintain the relationship of trust established with the child. Furthermore, the lawyer must inform the court of the child’s choices and wishes, even if these are not in the child’s best interests.
The child communicates privileged information:
Here, the child is better able to articulate his thoughts and is in a position to provide information and evidence to his lawyer in an autonomous manner, even if he is too young to testify. In this situation, the child is a client who gives his lawyer a traditional mandate and is entitled to the protection of the lawyer’s professional secrecy (also known as “attorney-client privilege”). The child has the right to require his lawyer to indicate his choices and wishes and assert his interests as he himself sees and expresses them.
As indicated by the Québec Court of Appeal in the case of “M.F.”,1 under no circumstances should the lawyer tell the court his own feelings regarding the nature of the choices made by his client.
There are other situations to consider, which may be the subject of another legal brief.
1 M.F. v. J.L., C.A. Montréal 500-09-011510-013, 18 March 2002, Judges: Rothman, Chamberland and Pelletier(www.jugements.qc.ca).
Legal brief *
October
2012
Number
10
Text prepared by Me Ghislain Girard, avocat au bureau d’aide juridique de Jonquière
* The information set out in this document is not a legal interpretation.
The masculine is used to designate persons solely in order to simplify the text.
October
The importance of having a will
Having a will is important, because without one, it is the Civil Code of Québec that will determine who receives your property. You can read about the rules for the transmission of property when someone dies without a will on the Justice Québec website, in the section entitled “Successions”.<
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September
Young persons: Arrest and the right to a lawyer
Like all citizens, young persons between the ages of 12 and 17 who are arrested or held in custody by the police in connection with an offence have the right to be informed of the reasons for their arrest, their right to remain silent and their right to obtain immediate assistance from a lawyer, and
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June
Can the DYP place my child for a long time?
The Youth Protection Act (YPA) requires the Director of Youth Protection (DYP) to carry out an investigation when a credible report is made that a child has been abandoned, neglected or psychologically, sexually or physically abused, or if a child has serious behavioural problems that the par
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June
You have received a notice of rent increase: what should you do?
A notice of rent increase must not be an indirect means to evict a tenant. You have the right to remain in your premises and have your lease renewed automatically.
When a lease is being renewed, the landlord can modify the amount of the rent. In a twelve-month lease, the landlord must give a
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May
I just found out that I am not my child's father
Mario and Joanie have been living together for several years and have a child together. The birth certificate of the child, whose name is Vincent, indicates Mario and Joanie as his parents. The couple separates when Vincent is seven years old. Despite the separation, Mario continues to take care of
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May
Deprivation of parental authority and adoption
The Civil Code of Québec confirms that fathers and mothers have the rights and duties of custody, supervision and education of their children; this is a core natural principle.
This parental authority allows parents to look after their children by exercising these rights and duties, wh
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April
Can my spouse adopt my child
The reality of today’s families and the fact that many parents will be part of more than one couple during their lifetime is not without its repercussions on their children. These children will have several parental figures during their childhood. Family law lawyers have noted a new upsurge in the n
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