a-25, r. 1 - Regulation respecting the application of the Automobile Insurance Act

Updated to 1 July 2024

This document has official status.

chapter A-25, r. 1

Regulation respecting the application of the Automobile Insurance Act

Automobile Insurance Act

(chapter A-25, s. 195, pars. 1 to 5 and 28).

O.C. 1922-89; O.C. 1334-99, s. 1.

DIVISION I PERSON RESIDENT IN QUÉBEC

1. In the definition of the expression “person resident in Québec” provided in section 7 of the Automobile Insurance Act (chapter A-25):

(1)  “Canadian citizen” means a person who holds the status of a Canadian citizen in accordance with the Citizenship Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-29);

(2)  “person who lives in Québec and is ordinarily in Québec” means a person who lives in Québec permanently and carries out the normal activities of his daily life in Québec;

(3)  “person having lawful permission to come into Québec as a visitor” means a foreign national who holds a valid certificate of selection issued in accordance with the Québec Immigration Act (chapter I-0.2.1);

(4)  “permanent resident” means a person who holds the status of a permanent resident in accordance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (S.C. 2001, c. 27).

O.C. 1922-89, s. 1.

2. A Canadian citizen, a permanent resident or a person having lawful permission to come into Québec as a visitor who has shown that he intends to live in Québec and be ordinarily in Québec is presumed to be a person resident in Québec from the time of his arrival in Québec.

O.C. 1922-89, s. 2.

3. A person resident in Québec loses that status:

(1)  as soon as he leaves Québec to establish himself in another Canadian province or territory or in another country;

(2)  as soon as he maintains a residence outside Québec, unless he shows that he lives in Québec and is ordinarily in Québec for at least 183 days per year;

(3)  from the last day of the twelfth month following the date of his departure from Québec, where he is absent from Québec for more than 12 consecutive months;

(4)  as soon as he establishes himself outside Québec.

O.C. 1922-89, s. 3.

4. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 to 3 of section 3, a person resident in Québec retains that status where:

(1)  he is registered as a student in an educational institution and is pursuing a program of studies outside Québec;

(2)  he is staying outside Québec as a full-time, unpaid trainee at a university, an institution affiliated with a university, a research institute or a governmental or international agency;

(3)  he is outside Québec in the employ of the Gouvernement du Québec or the Government of Canada or an agency thereof;

(4)  he is staying outside Québec for fewer than 12 consecutive months, while his spouse and children remain in Québec or while he keeps a dwelling there, for the purpose of assuming a temporary employment or fulfilling a contract, and where he returns to Québec at least once a year or notifies the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec that he is unable to meet that requirement; or

(5)  he is employed by a non-profit organization having its head office in Canada and works outside Canada within the framework of an international assistance or cooperation program.

Where the spouse and any minor child of a person referred to in the first paragraph have the status of a person resident in Québec and where they accompany that person, they retain that status for as long as they live permanently with that person.

O.C. 1922-89, s. 4.

5. The following persons do not have the status of a person resident in Québec:

(1)  a student from another Canadian province or territory, unless he has established himself in Québec;

(2)  a legal person that has its head office outside Québec.

O.C. 1922-89, s. 5.

6. A minor child is presumed to be a person resident in Québec where the person with whom he usually lives is a person resident in Québec.

O.C. 1922-89, s. 6.

DIVISION II DEVICE THAT CAN BE OPERATED INDEPENDENTLY

7. For the purposes of subparagraph 1 of the first paragraph of section 10 of the Act, the expression “device that can be operated independently” means a device that is not a usual accessory for the normal operation of an automobile and that could be operated or propelled by a form of energy, other than muscular energy, that is independent of the automobile in which the device is incorporated.

O.C. 1922-89, s. 7.

DIVISION III MISCELLANEOUS VEHICLES

8. In this Division, unless the context indicates otherwise, the expression “authorized by its registration to travel on a public highway” refers to the right granted by registration to travel on a public highway for purposes other than crossing it solely at a right angle.

O.C. 1922-89, s. 8.

9. For the purposes of the definition of “public highway” in section 1 of the Act and of subparagraphs 1, 2 and 3 of the first paragraph of section 10 of the Act:

(1)  “snowmobile” means a motorized vehicle having a net mass of 450 kg or less, designed to travel primarily on snow or ice, equipped with a steering ski or runner and propelled by an endless track in contact with the ground;

(2)  “drawn machinery” means a non-motorized vehicle without a load space that maintains itself, or is maintained by the automobile that draws it, in a horizontal position, is authorized by its registration to travel on a public highway, and is used to carry only equipment or machinery which is permanently installed upon it;

(3)  “farm trailer” means a non-motorized vehicle with a load space that maintains itself, or is maintained by the automobile that draws it, in a horizontal position, is used to transport agricultural produce or equipment required for the production of such produce, is authorized by its registration to travel on a public highway, and whose owner is a person or a partnership and is a member of an association certified under the Farm Producers Act (chapter P-28) or holds a registration card for a farm operation issued by the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation;

(4)  “farm tractor” means a tractor equipped with tires that is authorized by its registration to travel on a public highway, is designed to draw agricultural equipment, and whose owner:

(a)  is a person or a partnership and is a member of an association certified under the Farm Producers Act or holds a registration card for a farm operation issued by the Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation; or

(b)  is a natural person who uses the tractor exclusively for personal purposes;

(5)  “specialized vehicle” means an automobile that is authorized by its registration to travel on a public highway and that:

(a)  is not a service vehicle within the meaning of section 227 of the Highway Safety Code (chapter C-24.2), does not have a load space, is designed primarily to perform work, and is permanently equipped with its machinery for that purpose; or

(b)  has a net mass of more than 450 kg and is designed to travel primarily on snow or ice;

(6)  “vehicle intended for use off a public highway” means:

(a)  a vehicle with metal tracks;

(b)  an automobile that is used primarily or exclusively off a public highway;

(c)  an automobile that is designed for sports driving off a public highway and whose net mass does not exceed 450 kg;

(d)  an automobile that is authorized by its registration to cross a public highway only at a right angle;

(e)  an automobile that is used exclusively within a railway station, a harbour installation or an airport; or

(f)  a non-motorized vehicle that maintains itself, or is maintained by the automobile that draws it, in a horizontal position and that is used with a vehicle specified in any of subparagraphs a to e.

O.C. 1922-89, s. 9.

9.1. In subparagraph 5 of the first paragraph of section 10 of the Act, enacted by paragraph 2 of section 174 of the Act to amend the Highway Safety Code and other provisions (2018, chapter 7),

“motor assisted bicycle” means a bicycle or a tricycle equipped with a motor;

“motorized mobility aid” means a wheelchair equipped with a motor, a 3-wheel scooter, a 4-wheel scooter or any other aid to locomotion equipped with a motor;

“motorized personal mobility device” means a skateboard, a scooter, a toy vehicle, a golf cart, a gyroscopic or self-balancing vehicle, or a unicycle, equipped with a motor.

O.C. 947-2019, s. 1.

DIVISION IV FULL-TIME, PART-TIME AND TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT

10. An employment is considered to be full-time where:

(1)  it lasts for one year or longer and is performed for at least 28 hours per week, not counting overtime;

(2)  it meets the following conditions:

(a)  it is performed for at least 28 hours per week, not counting overtime;

(b)  for more than 2 years, it has been performed by one person for the same employer for successive periods or for intermittent periods of 8 months or longer with intervals of no more than 4 months.

O.C. 1922-89, s. 10.

11. An employment is considered to be part-time where it is performed for less than 28 hours per week, not counting overtime.

O.C. 1922-89, s. 11.

12. An employment is considered to be temporary where it lasts less than one year, is performed for at least 28 hours per week, not counting overtime, and is not covered by paragraph 2 of section 10.

O.C. 1922-89, s. 12.

DIVISION V EMPLOYMENT NORMALLY AVAILABLE

13. For the purposes of section 48 of the Act, an employment normally available is:

(1)  the employment that, at the time that the Société determines an employment for the victim, is performed or is about to be performed by him;

(2)  the employment or the category of employment that, at the time that the Société determines an employment for the victim, is the subject of an advertisement for employment;

(3)  the employment or the category of employment that, at the time that the Société determines an employment for the victim, is already in existence at an employer’s place and is not going to disappear by reason of technological progress.

O.C. 1922-89, s. 13.

DIVISION VI REGION WHERE THE VICTIM RESIDES

14. For the purposes of section 48 of the Act, the region where the victim is resident is:

(1)  for a victim who is resident in Québec, the region among the following where the victim’s principal residence is located:

(a)  Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine/Bas-Saint-Laurent;

(b)  Capitale-Nationale/Chaudière-Appalaches;

(c)  Mauricie/Centre-du-Québec/Estrie;

(d)  Montréal/Laval/Montérégie/Lanaudière/Laurentides;

(e)  Abitibi-Témiscamingue/Outaouais/that part of Nord-du-Québec below the 50th parallel of latitude and to the west of the 75th meridian;

(f)  Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean/Côte-Nord/that part of Nord-du-Québec below the 50th parallel of latitude and to the east of the 75th meridian;

(g)  Nord-du-Québec, other than the part located below the 50th parallel;

(2)  for a victim who is resident in Canada but outside Québec, the province or territory where the victim’s principal residence is located;

(3)  for a victim who is resident in the United States of America, the state or territory where the victim’s principal residence is located;

(4)  for a victim who is resident outside Canada and the United States of America, the state or non-independent territory where the victim’s principal residence is located.

For the purposes of subparagraph 1 of the first paragraph, the territory of each region is that of the administrative region or the aggregate of the administrative regions of the same name, described in Schedule I to the Décret concernant la révision des limites des régions administratives du Québec (chapter D-11, r. 1).

O.C. 1922-89, s. 14.

DIVISION VII HEALTH PROFESSIONAL

O.C. 1334-99, s. 2.

14.1. For the purposes of Chapter VI of Title II of the Act, a health professional is a member of any of the following professional orders:

Ordre professionnel des médecins du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des dentistes du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des pharmaciens du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des optométristes du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des technologues en imagerie médicale, en radio-oncologie et en électrophysiologie médicale du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des denturologistes du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des opticiens d’ordonnance du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des chiropraticiens du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des audioprothésistes du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des podiatres du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des acupuncteurs du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des diététistes-nutritionnistes du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des travailleurs sociaux et des thérapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des psychologues du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des conseillers et conseillères d’orientation du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des hygiénistes dentaires du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des technologues en prothèses et appareils dentaires du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des orthophonistes et audiologistes du Québec;

Ordre professionnel de la physiothérapie du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des ergothérapeutes du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des infirmières et infirmiers auxiliaires du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des technologistes médicaux du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des inhalothérapeutes du Québec;

Ordre professionnel des sages-femmes du Québec.

A person who practises legally outside Québec the same profession as the members of any of the professional orders in the first paragraph is also considered to be a health professional.

O.C. 1334-99, s. 2.

DIVISION VIII PAYMENT OF INTEREST

O.C. 1334-99, s. 2.

14.2. The Société is required to pay interest on the amount of an indemnity that has been awarded or increased, whichever the case, following reconsideration of a decision under section 83.44.1 of the Act.

Interest is calculated from the date of the decision refusing to recognize entitlement to an indemnity or to increase its amount.

O.C. 1334-99, s. 2.

15. (Omitted).

O.C. 1922-89, s. 15.

REFERENCES

O.C. 1922-89, 1989 G.O. 2, 4650

S.Q. 1990, c. 19, s. 11

S.Q. 1994, c. 15, s. 35

O.C. 1334-99, 1999 G.O. 2, 4544

S.Q. 2012, c. 10, s. 20

S.Q. 2016, c. 3, s. 128

O.C. 947-2019, 2019 G.O. 2, 2318

S.Q. 2020, c. 15, ss. 71 and 73