The Québec Ombudsman is called on to give its opinion and make recommendations on bills before they are voted on in the National Assembly of Québec and on draft regulations before their passage by the government.
In a letter to the Minister of Health and Social Services, the Ombudsperson noted that in its current form, the draft regulation could lead to lowering of quality standards within some categories of private seniors’ residences.
The Québec Ombudsman submitted its comments on Bill 73, Act respecting mainly the implementation of the recommendations of the pension committee of certain public sector pension plans, to the Committee on Public Finance.
The Québec Ombudsman conveyed its comments to the Committee on Labour and the Economy concerning Bill 58 – Act to group the Commission administrative des régimes de retraite et d’assurances and the Régie des rentes du Québec.
In a letter to the Minister of Health and Social Services, the Ombudsperson reiterated the importance of full accountability by all Québec institutions that provide end-of-life care.
The Québec Ombudsman welcomes the draft Regulation respecting the conduct of investigations the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes is charged with but recommends sizable changes.
The Québec Ombudsman subscribes to the goals of the Regulation, notably, to ensure greater fairness between last resort financial assistance recipients and to update assistance to them. It also embraces the principle whereby only citizens who really need last resort financial assistance should receive it.
The Québec Ombudsman welcomes the draft regulation, which provides for the establishment of mandatory mediation for the recovery of small claims arising out of consumer contracts in Gatineau and Terrebonne for a three-year period.
After examining the draft Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting financial assistance for education expenses, the Québec Ombudsman is satisfied with the clarification of the nature of the income used to compute the contribution of the parents, sponsor or spouse, notably by the taking into account of locked-in retirement accounts.
The Québec Ombudsman subscribes to the objectives of the draft Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting the selection of foreign nationals, in particular, countering certain abusive applications of the current Regulation and relaxing the requirements for the issuance of Québec certificates of acceptance or selection.
