A citizen filed a complaint against a correctional facility where he was punished for acts he had not committed.
The facility had accused him of breaking an outside fence. Since the incident, he had been subjected to several control measures (handcuffs and chains) when he went out in the yard.
The surveillance footage proved his innocence. The Disciplinary Committee refused to look at the images because then the citizen would have had the right to see them too. Viewing them would have revealed information that should remain confidential.
The Protecteur du citoyen intervened and a solution was found. A person not on the committee examined the recordings. On reading this person’s report, the facility declared the citizen not responsible for the breakage. It then stopped imposing the control measures.
For more details about this real-life case, see our 2023-2024 Annual Report (in French).
The Protecteur du citoyen ensures that your rights are upheld in your dealings with Québec public services. Are you dissatisfied with the services of a Government of Québec department or agency? Or with those of a health and social services network institution (2nd level of recourse)? File a complaint by calling 1-800-463-5070 or using our online complaint form.
