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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 2015

  Month
Number
Legal brief
November
 09
Can I be financially eligible for legal aid if my spouse is not? This hypelink opens a PDF file in a new window.
The Act respecting legal aid and the provision of certain other legal services will consider you and another person to be spouses in the following three cases:

  1. You and the other person are married and you are living together;
  2. You and the other person are living together more
October
 08
I have a judgment awarding me custody of my child — can my former spouse object to me moving out of town? This hypelink opens a PDF file in a new window.
Judgments awarding custody are intended to provide children with stability. Therefore, there must be proof of significant changes before a court will intervene to modify such judgments.

In our day and age, relocations are common and may result from a number of situations, including a job oppo
more
August/Sept
 07
How to avoid the resiliation of your lease for failure to pay the rentThis hypelink opens a PDF file in a new window.
When you sign a residential lease with a landlord, your primary obligation as a tenant is to pay your rent in full when it is due. The law states that a tenant must pay his rent the first of every month, unless otherwise agreed upon with the landlord.(1) It is possible to agree with the l more
June/July
 06
Breathalyzers and impaired facultiesThis hypelink opens a PDF file in a new window.
Offences related to driving under the influence of alcohol are probably the ones most likely to affect the « ordinary » person, that is, someone without a criminal past. Unfortunately, these offences can have serious consequences which the public does not always fully grasp.

If a police offi
more
May
 05
What exactly is the Social Security Tribunal?This hypelink opens a PDF file in a new window.
On April 1, 2013, a new tribunal was created in Canada—the Social Security Tribunal—which falls under federal jurisdiction. It replaced the following four administrative tribunals: the Board of Referees, the employment insurance umpires, the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security review tribunals, and the Pension Appeals Board.

The new tribunal therefore handles reviews of decisions made by federal agencies about employment insurance, Old Age Security and the Canada Pension Plan.

There are two divisions within the Social Security Tribunal: the “General Division” and the “Appeal Division.” The General Division itself has two sections, an Employment Insurance Section and an Income Security Section (for the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security).

As an example, if a recipient wishes to contest a decision made by the Employment Insurance Commission, he will first have to file an application for administrative review with the Commission itself, within 30 days after the decision in question was sent to him.

Subsequently, if the recipient is dissatisfied with the decision rendered following the administrative review, he will be entitled to file an appeal with the General Division of the Social Security Tribunal. The appeal will have to be filed within 30 days after the decision on the review was sent to him. For a decision dealing with Old Age Security or the Canada Pension Plan, the time limit is 90 days.

In both cases, the General Division can summarily dismiss an appeal if it is convinced that there is no reasonable chance of success.

Lastly, a recipient who has been heard before the General Division and is still dissatisfied with the decision rendered will first have to obtain permission to appeal before being heard by the Appeal Division. The application for leave to appeal will have to be filed within 30 days after the recipient has received the decision rendered by the Employment Insurance Section. This time limit is 90 days when the decision is one rendered by the Income Security Section.

For more information about the Social Security Tribunal, do not hesitate to contact the legal aid office nearest you, where experienced lawyers will be able to answer all your questions.


Legal brief *
May  2015
Number  05
Text prepared by   Me Annie Desrosiers,avocate au bureau d’aide juridique de Roberval
 
* 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.
April
 04
March
 03
I am a victim of spousal violence or sexual assault - can I terminate my residential lease? This hypelink opens a PDF file in a new window.
Yes. Under the Civil Code of Québec,(1) a tenant can resiliate (terminate) his residential lease if, due to the violent behaviour of a spouse or former spouse, or due to sexual aggression, even by a third party, the safety of the tenant or a child living with the tenant is threatened.

more
February
 02
Free or low-cost legal aidThis hypelink opens a PDF file in a new window.
You may be granted free legal aid if your income, property and liquid assets do not exceed the eligibility scale provided for in the Act respecting legal aid and the provision of certain other legal services and the Regulation respecting legal aid.

Even if you are above the elig
more
January
 01
Is shared custody in the best interests of your child? This hypelink opens a PDF file in a new window.
For the majority of parents who are in the process of a separation or divorce, custody of their children is often their primary concern. How can their children’s time be managed best so that they can spend as much of this precious commodity with their children? more
 
© Commission des services juridiques Création: Diane Laurin - 2017