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 2025
March
I’ve Been Charged With Assault With a Weapon – Really?!? 
Clara knows she has a hot temper, and her angry outbursts sometimes get her into trouble, which is exactly what happened a few weeks ago at her son Victor’s soccer game.
A parent from the opposing team wouldn’t stop shouting nonsense, and Clara couldn’t listen to the unbearable screaming any longer. In a fit of desperation and anger, she threw her water bottle at the parent’s head to make him understand that he should stop.
What a surprise it was when she received a summons in the mail informing her that she had been charged with assault with a weapon!
Clara absolutely couldn’t understand how she could be accused of such an offence when all she’d done was throw a simple plastic bottle, and an almost empty one at that.
It’s important to know that assault with a weapon is the act of committing an assault while carrying, using or threatening to use a weapon or an imitation weapon.
The definition of “weapon” is broad, and includes any object used to intimidate, threaten or injure the victim. For example, a box of tissues, a backpack or a schoolbag can be considered a weapon.
The bottle of water Clara threw therefore falls squarely within the definition of a weapon.
Clara should contact the legal aid office closest to her home right now to make an appointment with a lawyer, who will be able to explain the legal process and, of course, represent her in court.
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Don’t hesitate to have your eligibility for legal aid evaluated by making an appointment at a legal aid office near you. You can also check your eligibility online here.
To find the contact information for your legal aid office, please click on the following link www.csj.qc.ca.
Legal brief *
March
2025
Number
03
Text prepared by Me Gitane Smith
Update by CSJ
* 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.
January
Repossession of a Rental Property
The owner of a dwelling who is the landlord of the dwelling may repossess it for specific reasons, in general, as a residence for the landlord or for ascendants or descendants in the first degree or for any other relative or person connected by marriage or a civil union of whom the landlord is the m
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