Additional contact information for the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux

For any information requests or complaints regarding certain laws and regulations cited in the MSSS service statement, contact the Directions de l'inspection et des enquêtes.

For comments or suggestions regarding other laws and certain rules in the MSSS service statement, please call at 418-644-4545.

Several situations might lead you to file a request for an investigation which could lead to criminal sanctions to combat mistreatment be imposed on someone. For example:

• you are a user of full age residing in a long-term care centre, a user of full age in the care of an intermediary resource (IR), a user of full age in the care of a family-type resource (RTF), a resident of a private seniors’ residence (PSR) or a person of full age who receives health or social services at home on behalf of an institution and you believe you are mistreated;
• you believe that a user of full age residing in a long-term care centre, a user of full age in the care of an intermediary resource (IR), a user of full age in the care of a family-type resource (RTF), a resident of a private seniors’ residence (PSR) or a person of full age who receives health or social services at home on behalf of an institution is being mistreated;
• you believe that a person who provides health care or social services did not report the mistreatment as required;
• you are being threatened or intimidated in relation to a mistreatment situation that you have or wish to report or that you have witnessed.

Note that a request will not systematically lead to criminal sanctions if the evidence is insufficient or if the elements cannot be documented beyond reasonable doubt.

To file a request, the claimant must be a direct witness or have been informed of the facts. They can be a loved one or a representative of the mistreated person.

The alleged situation involving mistreatment or retaliation must be toward:

• a user of full age residing in a long-term care centre;
• a user of full age in the care of an intermediary resource (IR);
• a user of full age in the care of a family-type resource (RTF);
• a resident of a private seniors’ residence (PSR);
• a person of full age who receives health or social services at home on behalf of an institution.

The location indicated by the complaint must be clearly identified and located in Quebec.

Finally, the request must concern an act of abuse or a beneficiary of health and social services or a member of a professional order who, in the performance of his or her duty, failed to report to the Service Quality and Complaints Commission that a person is a victim of mistreatment.

To file a request to impose criminal sanctions associated with the Act to combat mistreatment, you can:

• contact the people in charge by telephone,
• file an online report of mistreatment  (in French only)
• or send the downloadable form (PDF 79 Kb) (in French only) by email or by mail.

This process does not take the place of the local complaints commissioner or the police. You will find the information to contact a local service quality and complaints commissioners in your area on the page The health and social services network complaint examination system.

In an emergency, if your safety is compromised, dial 911.

If you have any questions about abuse, we invite you to contact the Mistreatment Helpline, at 1-888-489-2287. You can also find information on The Mistreatment Helpline website .

Any person who witnesses a situation in violation of the Act or regulation governing the use of personnel placement agency and independent labour services in the health and social services sector can file a request to impose administrative or criminal sanctions.

For example, the situation might be related to:

• a higher rate than the one set out by the Act or the regulation;
• the application of travel or subsistence allowances not set out in the Act or the regulation;
• unfulfilled obligations by personnel placement agencies, independent labour and organizations in the health and social services sector.

Note that a request will not systematically lead to administrative or criminal sanctions if the evidence is insufficient.

To file a request to impose administrative or criminal sanctions under the Act limiting the use of personnel placement agency and independent labour services in the health and social services sector or its regulations, you can:

• contact the people in charge by telephone,
• file an online report  (in French only)
• or send the downloadable form (PDF 197 Kb) (in French only) by email or by mail.