C-20 - Act to promote good citizenship

Updated to 1 January 2017

This document has official status.

chapter C-20

Act to promote good citizenship

1. In this Act, unless the context indicates a different meaning,

(a)  “commission” means the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail established under the Act respecting occupational health and safety (chapter S-2.1);

(b)  (paragraph repealed);

(c)  “dependant” means a person who, at the time when the rescuer sustained an injury, was dependent on him within the meaning of the Workers’ Compensation Act (chapter A-3);

(d)  “injury” means bodily harm or property damage sustained by a person;

(e)  “benefit” means the benefits provided for by Divisions III, IV and V of the Workers’ Compensation Act and, in the case of material injury sustained by the rescuer, an amount not exceeding $1,000;

(f)  “claimant” means a person who makes an application under section 3;

(g)  “rescuer” means a person who, having reasonable cause to believe another person to be in danger of his life or of bodily harm, benevolently comes to his assistance.

1977, c. 7, s. 1; 1978, c. 57, s. 86; 1978, c. 57, s. 92; 1979, c. 63, s. 329; 1997, c. 43, s. 168; 2015, c. 15, s. 237.

2. A rescuer who sustains an injury or, if he dies therefrom, a dependant, may obtain a benefit from the commission.

A natural person who, without being a dependant, has paid for the funeral expenses of the rescuer may be reimbursed for them up to $5,271; if such a person pays for costs of transportation of the remains, he is entitled, in the cases provided for by the regulations under the Workers’ Compensation Act (chapter A-3), to be reimbursed for the sum prescribed therein.

The amount set out in the second paragraph for the reimbursement of funeral expenses is revalorized on 1 January of each year in accordance with sections 119 to 123 of the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (chapter A-3.001). The Minister publishes the amount of the revalorized indemnity in the Gazette officielle du Québec.

1977, c. 7, s. 2; 1978, c. 57, s. 87; 2013, c. 8, s. 9.

See notice of indexation; (2020) 152 G.O. 1, 409.

3. A rescuer must apply to the commission in writing within two years after the injury was sustained; in the case of a dependant, such application must be made within two years after the death of the rescuer; in the case of the person contemplated in the second paragraph of section 2, the application must be made within two years of the payment.

The claimant who does not make the application within the prescribed time is presumed to have renounced the benefit.

1977, c. 7, s. 3; 1978, c. 57, s. 88; 1999, c. 40, s. 52; 2013, c. 8, s. 10.

4. The commission must notify the Attorney General of any application which it receives under section 3.

The Attorney General may support the application or, as the case may be, contest it.

1977, c. 7, s. 4; 1997, c. 43, s. 169.

5. The commission shall inquire into the facts and the circumstances alleged by the claimant or disclosed during such inquiry.

1977, c. 7, s. 5.

6. If the commission refuses the claimant’s request to make or to continue an inquiry or to grant him benefit, it shall notify him, give him the reasons for its decision and indicate to him the other recourses he may exercise, if any.

1977, c. 7, s. 6; 1978, c. 57, s. 84.

7. The commission shall notify the Attorney General of its decision or, where the decision is contested before the Administrative Tribunal of Québec, of the decision of the Tribunal.

1977, c. 7, s. 7; 1997, c. 43, s. 170.

8. Where the indemnity cannot be determined on the basis of the rescuer’s earnings, the commission shall establish it according to the method it considers best suited to the circumstances.

1977, c. 7, s. 8; 1978, c. 57, s. 85.

9. If, upon receipt of an application, the commission is of opinion that it will probably grant the indemnity, it may make temporary payments to the claimant for his maintenance or medical costs, if he is in need.

If the commission refuses to grant the indemnity, the amounts paid under this section shall not be recoverable.

1977, c. 7, s. 9; 1978, c. 57, s. 85.

10. (Repealed).

1977, c. 7, s. 10; 1978, c. 57, s. 89.

11. From the making of an application, the commission is subrogated pleno jure in the rights of the claimant up to the amount it may be called upon to pay to the claimant and it may, in its own name or in the name and stead of the claimant, continue or institute civil proceedings.

An amount thus recovered is paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

1977, c. 7, s. 11.

12. The claimant keeps his right to recover from the person responsible for the injury or death, the amounts required to make up, with the indemnity, an amount equivalent to the loss sustained.

1977, c. 7, s. 12; 1978, c. 57, s. 85.

13. Where an application has been made under this Act, any transactions effected between the parties respecting civil proceedings shall be without effect unless they are ratified by the commission.

1977, c. 7, s. 13.

14. If the amount awarded and collected under civil proceedings is less than the indemnity which could have been obtained under this Act, an application for the difference, notwithstanding the expiry of the time provided for in section 3, may be made to the commission within one year of the judgment.

1977, c. 7, s. 14; 1978, c. 57, s. 85; 1999, c. 40, s. 52.

15. Upon the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, the Government may, for an act of good citizenship, grant a person an award not exceeding $5,000 or award him decorations or distinctions.

1977, c. 7, s. 15; 1996, c. 21, s. 35; 2005, c. 24, s. 25.

16. For the application of section 15, the Government may make regulations to:

(a)  determine the decorations and distinctions that may be awarded;

(b)  determine the cases where they may be awarded, and the procedure therefor;

(c)  prescribe the form of the decorations attached to the distinctions; and

(d)  establish a committee to advise the Minister on the granting of awards or the awarding of decorations and distinctions, determine its composition and functions and provide for the mode of appointment of its members.

A regulation made under this section shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Gazette officielle du Québec or on any later date fixed therein.

1977, c. 7, s. 16.

17. Section 15 applies even where the rescuer has not sustained any injury or is not eligible for benefit.

1977, c. 7, s. 17; 1978, c. 57, s. 84.

18. An application validly made under the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (chapter A-3.001) or under the Crime Victims Compensation Act (chapter I-6) and refused by the commission on the ground that it should have been made under this Act is nevertheless deemed to have been validly made under this Act.

1977, c. 7, s. 18; 1985, c. 6, s. 491.

19. An application made according to this Act shall interrupt the prescription provided for in the Civil Code until the decision of the commission or, where the decision is contested before the Administrative Tribunal of Québec, of the Tribunal.

1977, c. 7, s. 19; 1997, c. 43, s. 171.

20. The provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act (chapter A-3) not inconsistent with this Act apply, with the necessary modifications.

1977, c. 7, s. 20.

Not in force

20.1. Where the injury sustained by the rescuer or his death results from an event having occurred before (insert here the date of coming into force of chapter 54 of the statutes of 1993), paragraphs c, e and f of section 1 and sections 2, 3, 8, 20, 21 and 21.1, as they read before being amended, replaced or repealed by sections 197 to 199, 203, 205 and 206 of the Act respecting assistance and compensation for victims of crime (1993, chapter 54), continue to apply to the claimant, subject to the following amendments:

(1)  section 2 is amended by replacing the word “commission” in the second line of the first paragraph by the words “Minister of Justice”;

(2)  section 3 is amended

(a)  by replacing the word “commission” in the first line of the first paragraph by the word “Minister”;

(b)  by adding the words “, subject to section 14 of the Act respecting assistance and compensation for victims of crime” after the word “benefit” in the second line of the second paragraph;

(3)  section 8 is amended by replacing the words “commission shall establish it according to the method it” in the second and third lines by the words “Minister shall establish it according to the method he”;

(4)  section 20 is amended by adding, at the end, the following paragraphs:

“Sections 14 to 17, section 21, Chapter VIII of Title II, with the exception of sections 113 and 121, Chapter IX of that title and sections 140, 143 to 146, 148, 150 to 159 and sections 164 to 169 of the Act respecting assistance and compensation for victims of crime also apply, with any necessary changes.

The provisions of Chapter IX of Title II of that Act relating to decision, review and appeal do not apply to applications for review brought before (insert here the date of coming into force of chapter 54 of the statutes of 1993). Such applications shall be heard, continued, decided and appealed from in accordance with the provisions applicable to them on the date on which they were made.”.

1993, c. 54, s. 204.

Not in force

20.2. Where the rescuer suffers a relapse after (insert here the date preceding the date of coming into force of chapter 54 of the statutes of 1993) and more than two years after the end of the last period of incapacity for which he was entitled to an indemnity or, if he was not entitled to such an indemnity, more than two years after the date of the manifestation of his injury, he shall be subject, from the date of the relapse, to the provisions of the Act respecting assistance and compensation for victims of crime (1993, chapter 54) as if it were a new injury.

1993, c. 54, s. 204.

21. No benefit shall be granted under this Act if the rescuer has sustained an injury or died in circumstances to which the Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases (chapter A-3.001), the Crime Victims Compensation Act (chapter I-6) or an Act other than an Act of the Parliament of Québec are applicable.

If, in the case described in the first paragraph, benefits provided by an Act other than an Act of the Parliament of Québec are smaller than those provided by this Act, the rescuer or a dependent, as the case may be, may claim the difference by virtue of this Act.

1977, c. 7, s. 21; 1978, c. 84, s. 84; 1985, c. 6, s. 492.

21.1. If, by reason of an injury sustained by a rescuer or of a death occurring thereafter, a person is entitled to an indemnity under the Automobile Insurance Act (chapter A-25) and compensation under this Act, that person may elect to claim either an indemnity under the Automobile Insurance Act or compensation under this Act.

Compensation under the Automobile Insurance Act sets aside any right to benefit under this Act.

1985, c. 6, s. 492.

22. Where, in circumstances to which this Act is applicable, a claimant obtains an indemnity under section 79 of the Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife (chapter C-61.1), it must be deducted from any indemnity received pursuant to this Act.

1977, c. 7, s. 22; 1978, c. 57, s. 90.

23. The Minister of Finance shall repay the commission, upon production of a statement, the expenses incurred by it in the administration of this Act.

1977, c. 7, s. 23.

24. The Minister of Finance may, at the request of the commission, when it believes it necessary to ensure prompt payment of the benefit it decides to grant under this Act, deposit with the commission from time to time moneys out of which it shall pay the benefit.

1977, c. 7, s. 24; 1978, c. 57, s. 84.

25. Not later than 30 June each year, the commission shall make to the Minister a report of its activities for the preceding fiscal year.

The Minister shall table the report of the commission before the National Assembly within thirty days after its receipt. If he receives it when the National Assembly is not in session, he shall table it within thirty days of the opening of the next session or of resumption, as the case may be.

1977, c. 7, s. 25.

26. Any event that occurred from 1 January 1977 giving access to this Act may form the subject of a claim before the commission even if the time provided for in section 3 has expired, provided that the claim is filed before 31 December 1978.

1977, c. 7, s. 28; 1999, c. 40, s. 52.

27. The moneys necessary for the application of this Act shall be taken out the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

1977, c. 7, s. 29.

28. The Minister of Justice is responsible for the application of this Act.

1977, c. 7, s. 30; 1996, c. 21, s. 35; 2005, c. 24, s. 25.

29. (This section ceased to have effect on 17 April 1987).

1982, c. 21, s. 1; U. K., 1982, c. 11, Sch. B, Part I, s. 33.

REPEAL SCHEDULE

In accordance with section 17 of the Act respecting the consolidation of the statutes (chapter R-3), chapter 7 of the statutes of 1977, in force on 31 December 1977, is repealed, except section 31, effective from the coming into force of chapter C-20 of the Revised Statutes.