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
October
Psychiatric Assessments
Following a court ruling concluding that there is good reason to believe that Olivia represents a danger to herself or to others due to her mental state and ordering that she be confined in an institution, Olivia must undergo a psychiatric assessment. She wonders exactly what this assessment will en
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September
Criminal Harassment: When Letting Go Is Essential
Breaking up with someone always causes problems, whether emotional, financial or even residential. These problems, however, pale in comparison to the legal problems that can result from a poorly handled break-up. Criminal harassment is a broad offence that is defined as committing any of the followi
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August
Child Custody: Superior Court Versus
Court of Québec (Youth Division)
Jasmine and John are the parents of two children, Julian and Julie. When they separated, the parents agreed to share custody of their two children and decided to have their agreement confirmed by a court. They therefore obtained a judgment from the Superior Court, Family Division.
Custody was
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May
The Role of a Legal Aid Lawyer in Administrative Law - Last Resort Financial Assistance
Legal aid offices employ lawyers specializing in administrative law. A number of fields fall under this area of law, such as those involving the CNESST, the IVAC, the SAAQ, the Canada Revenue Agency, Revenu Québec and Services Québec, including the Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale (hereinafter the “MESS”), which oversees last resort financial assistance benefits.
First, it’s important to know that all clients who receive last resort financial assistance benefits (social assistance) automatically qualify for legal aid, at the very least for a consultation to ensure their rights under the Individual and Family Assistance Act are respected.
For example, the local employment centre (i.e., Centre local d’emploi (CLE) or social assistance office) or the MESS sends you a notice denying benefits you think you are entitled to receive:
- Denial of the allowance for temporarily limited employment capacity or denial of the allowance under the social solidarity program (severely limited capacity for employment);
- Denial of special benefits related to your personal or medical situation;
- Termination or reduction of benefits in a specific program such as the Aim for Employment Program; or
- Claims for excess liquid assets, undeclared marital situation or undeclared income.
Within the 90-day time limit following your receipt of the decision, your legal aid lawyer will be able to start the process to have the decision reviewed, if necessary. This is the first recourse for protecting your rights. Some decisions are not reviewable, but may nevertheless be reconsidered if an application for reconsideration is filed within 30 days, in accordance with the last paragraph of section 108 of the Individual and Family Assistance Act. It is therefore important to make an appointment with a lawyer from your local legal aid office before the end of the review period, so the lawyer can receive a copy of your file from the MESS and analyze it with you.
If the review decision remains unchanged, you have one last recourse: an appeal to the Administrative Tribunal of Québec (hereinafter the “ATQ”), which must be submitted within 60 days of receipt of the review decision. While waiting for the hearing before the ATQ, steps such as a conciliation session presided over by an ATQ judge with a MESS representative present provide an opportunity to try to settle the case before the hearing, or at least learn more about the MESS’s position.
In all cases, if you receive an unfavourable decision from a government department, don’t hesitate to consult a lawyer at your nearest legal aid office to ensure that your rights are respected in accordance with the services covered under the Act respecting legal aid and the provision of certain other legal services.
To find the contact information for your legal aid office, please click on the following link www.csj.qc.ca.
Legal brief *
May
2025
Number
05
Text prepared by Me Mireille Bonneau
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.
April
Protecting Seniors from Economic Exploitation
With demographic aging, we are seeing a worrying increase in situations of financial exploitation of the elderly. This phenomenon manifests itself in various ways:
- Extortion of money: Individuals, often relatives, take advantage of their relationship of trust with seniors to cheat the
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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
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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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