M-19.2 - Act respecting the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux

Updated to 1 June 2024

This document has official status.

chapter M-19.2

Act respecting the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux

This Act was formerly entitled “An Act respecting the Ministère des Affaires sociales”. The title was replaced by section 11 of chapter 23 of the statutes of 1985.

1985, c. 23, s. 11.

1. The Minister of Health and Social Services, in this Act called “the Minister”, shall have charge of the direction and administration of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux.

He shall also have charge of the application of the Acts and regulations respecting health and social services.

1970, c. 42, s. 1; 1977, c. 5, s. 14; 1985, c. 23, s. 12; 1985, c. 23, s. 24.

The Minister responsible for Social Services exercises the functions and responsibilities of the Minister of Health and Social Services in respect of child and youth protection, in particular those prescribed by section 5.1.1 provided for in this Act. Order in Council 1652-2022 dated 20 October 2022, (2022) 154 G.O. 2 (French), 6520.

2. The functions of the Minister shall be to prepare and propose to the Government policies respecting health and social services.

The Minister must see to the implementation of such policies and supervise the application and co-ordinate the carrying out thereof.

1970, c. 42, s. 2; 1977, c. 5, s. 14; 1981, c. 9, s. 9; 1985, c. 23, s. 13.

3. The Minister shall in particular:

(a)  assure the social protection of individuals, and families and other groups;

(b)  take the necessary steps to assure the protection of public health;

(c)  see to improving the state of health of individuals, and the standard of health of the population;

(d)  promote study and scientific research in the field of health and social services;

(e)  participate in the preparation and implementation of programs to clean up the physical environment of the population for whom such programs are intended;

(f)  promote the participation of individuals and groups in devising means to meet their needs in the field of health and social services;

(g)  consult individuals and groups on the establishment of policy in the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux;

(h)  promote the development and implementation of programs and services according to the needs of individuals, and families and other groups;

(i)  establish standards for services, equipment, finance and personnel in the use of government grants in the field of health and social services, and supervise the use of such grants;

(j)  secure the setting up and maintenance of establishments in the field of health and social services, either by himself or by another;

(k)  determine the possibilities for the adoption of children domiciled outside Québec, taking into account the objectives defined by the Minister of Immigration, Francization and Integration under the Act respecting the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (chapter M-16.1) and the Act respecting immigration to Québec (chapter I-0.2.1);

(l)  obtain from the Government departments and any public or private body any available information for the purposes of implementing departmental policy;

(m)  take the necessary steps to reduce tobacco dependence in the population;

(n)  ensure controlled information management;

(o)  encourage the use of information and communications technologies so as to improve efficiency and productivity in the health and social services field;

(p)  promote the appropriate measures to meet the needs of children and families in vulnerable situations or to prevent the security or development of a child from being in danger; and

(q)  take the necessary steps to support young persons under 26 years of age who were taken in charge by the director of youth protection, in order to facilitate their transition to adulthood.

1970, c. 42, s. 3; 1977, c. 5, s. 14; 1982, c. 17, s. 59; 1985, c. 23, s. 14; 1985, c. 23, s. 24; 1994, c. 15, s. 31; 1996, c. 21, s. 53; 1998, c. 33, s. 67; 2005, c. 24, s. 44; 2012, c. 23, s. 148; 2022, c. 11, s. 65; 2022, c. 14, s. 215.

4. The Government shall appoint a Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services, hereinafter called “the Deputy Minister”.

Under the direction of the Minister, the Deputy Minister shall supervise the officers and employees of the department; he shall administer its day to day business and exercise the other powers assigned to him by the Government.

1970, c. 42, s. 4; 1985, c. 23, s. 24.

5. The orders of the Deputy Minister shall be carried out in the same manner as those of the Minister; his authority shall be that of the incumbent minister of the department and his official signature shall give force and effect to any document within the jurisdiction of the department.

1970, c. 42, s. 5; 1978, c. 15, s. 140.

5.1. The Government shall appoint the national public health director who shall hold a position of assistant deputy minister, to advise and assist the Minister and the Deputy Minister in the exercise of their responsibilities in public health.

The national public health director must be a physician who holds a specialist’s certificate in community health.

The Minister may delegate to the national public health director functions or powers granted to the Minister under the Public Health Act (chapter S-2.2).

2001, c. 24, s. 108; 2001, c. 60, s. 148; 2002, c. 38, s. 9.

5.1.1. The Government shall appoint the National Director of Youth Protection, who shall hold a position of assistant deputy minister, to advise and assist the Minister and the Deputy Minister in the exercise of their responsibilities with regard to youth protection.

2022, c. 11, s. 66.

5.2. In exercising the functions of office under section 10.1 of the Act respecting the governance and management of the information resources of public bodies and government enterprises (chapter G-1.03), the health and social services network information officer shall define, in respect of the public bodies identified in subparagraph 5 of the first paragraph of section 2 of that Act, specific rules applicable to health and social information management that pertain, among other things, to

(1)  the governance framework for health and social information security management, and security guidelines;

(2)  the protection of confidential or personal information contained in information assets, and the confidentiality of the unique user identification number;

(3)  user and provider identity management and access authorization management with respect to information assets;

(4)  the physical and logical security of infrastructures, communications security and integrated security risk management and incident management;

(5)  the certification of supplier applications that allow access to health information governed by the Act respecting the sharing of certain health information (chapter P-9.0001);

(6)  the categorization of information and the means of authenticating a person’s identity, in accordance with defined degrees of trust; and

(7)  reporting by the persons in charge of information assets.

The specific rules come into force after being approved by the Conseil du trésor.

2012, c. 23, s. 149; 2017, c. 28, s. 21.

5.3. The health and social services network information officer shall ensure compliance with the specific rules that officer defines.

2012, c. 23, s. 149.

5.4. The health and social services network information officer or any person that officer designates may, to ensure compliance with the specific rules they define, carry out verifications or audits and require persons and partnerships to produce any information or document, provided the information cannot be associated with persons who have received health services or social services.

2012, c. 23, s. 149.

5.5. The Minister shall designate, within the department, a person acting as advisory commissioner who is responsible for seeing to the adequate and optimal application of the provisions relating to the complaint examination process that are provided for in the Act respecting health services and social services (chapter S-4.2) and the handling of reports of maltreatment made within the scope of the anti-maltreatment policy adopted under the Act to combat maltreatment of seniors and other persons of full age in vulnerable situations (chapter L-6.3).

For that purpose, the designated person shall foster concerted action between local service quality and complaints commissioners and medical examiners governed by the Act respecting health services and social services as well as the sharing of good practices applicable in the exercise of their functions. The designated person shall also see to it that local commissioners and medical examiners receive training relevant to the exercise of their functions.

In addition, the designated person shall provide support to any local commissioner or medical examiner who requires it, with due regard to their respective functions and the confidentiality of the records. The designated person may thus give them an opinion on the means to be favoured and the solutions to be considered in dealing with a problem related to the exercise of their functions.

The designated person may recommend to the Minister any measure that may improve the application of the provisions referred to in the first paragraph and enhance the exercise of the local commissioners’ and medical examiners’ functions.

2020, c. 24, s. 9.

6. The other officers and employees necessary for the proper administration of the department shall be appointed in accordance with the Public Service Act (chapter F-3.1.1).

1970, c. 42, s. 6; 1978, c. 15, s. 140; 1983, c. 55, s. 161; 2000, c. 8, s. 242.

7. The respective duties of the officers and employees of the department not expressly defined by law or by the Government shall be determined by the Minister.

1970, c. 42, s. 7.

8. No deed, document or writing shall bind the department or be attributed to the Minister unless it is signed by him, the Deputy Minister or an officer and only, in the case of the latter, to the extent determined by regulation of the Government published in the Gazette officielle du Québec.

The Government may, however, upon such conditions as it fixes, allow the required signature to be affixed by means of an automatic device to such documents as it determines.

The Government may also allow a facsimile of the required signature to be engraved, lithographed or printed on such documents as it determines; in such case, the facsimile shall have the same validity as the signature itself if the document is countersigned by a person authorized by the Minister.

1970, c. 42, s. 8.

9. Any copy of a document forming part of the records of the department, certified as true by the Minister, the Deputy Minister or an Assistant Deputy Minister, shall be authentic and have the same force as the original.

1970, c. 42, s. 9.

9.1. (Repealed).

1978, c. 72, s. 53; 1983, c. 38, s. 69.

9.2. The Government may authorize the Minister to delegate to an organization, by agreement, the exercise of functions assigned to the Minister by this Act or by another Act under the Minister’s administration.

1997, c. 94, s. 1.

10. The Minister may, according to law, enter into agreements with any government, one of its departments, with an international organization or with an agency of that government or organization for the purposes of

(1)  the application of this Act or another Act within the competence of the Minister;

(2)  enabling, on a basis of reciprocity, a person to benefit, from the time specified in those agreements and on the conditions determined therein, from all or part of the health services and social services provided for in the Acts administered by the Minister or in the laws of a foreign State to which the agreements apply.

The agreements may set out the terms and conditions applicable to the repayment of the costs of the health services and social services.

To give effect to such agreements, the Government may, by regulation, determine the manner in which an Act administered by the Minister is to apply in any case covered by the agreements, and adapt the provisions of such an Act.

1970, c. 42, s. 10; 1974, c. 40, s. 23; 1980, c. 11, s. 65; 1985, c. 30, s. 146; 1988, c. 71, s. 1; 2002, c. 8, s. 10.

10.1. Notwithstanding any Act or regulation, the Minister may allow a person who is not a resident of Québec, within the meaning of an Act with the application of which he is entrusted, to benefit upon conditions determined by him from health services and social services under this Act.

1980, c. 11, s. 65; 1988, c. 71, s. 2.

10.2. The Minister may, by way of a ministerial order published in the Gazette officielle du Québec, designate the institutions, among those referred to in sections 6 and 9 of the Act respecting the protection of persons whose mental state presents a danger to themselves or to others (chapter P-38.001), that may receive persons detained under a penal law.

1997, c. 75, s. 45.

10.3. The Minister may entrust a health and social services institution or another organization of the health and social services system with the responsibility of administering the Centre anti-poison, whose main function is to provide expert assistance in the area of intoxication. The Minister may issue guidelines or objectives to be pursued by the Centre anti-poison and, if necessary, provide directly for its financing.

If the Minister subsequently designates another institution or another organization, the parties concerned must effect a transfer of activities, on the conditions approved beforehand by the Minister.

2002, c. 42, s. 2.

10.4. The Minister may, with the approval of the Conseil du trésor, establish a program by regulation to promote the practice of family medicine in family medicine groups. The regulation may, among other things, prescribe the terms governing the medical care provided to patients by physicians involved in the program, including the hours during which physicians must be available.

The Minister may, for the purposes of the program, issue directives to the institutions concerning, among other things, the allocation of the resources provided for in the program.

2015, c. 25, s. 1.

11. The Government may establish councils or committees, subject to the functions assigned to any council or committee established by another Act, entrusted with advising the Minister in matters of health services or social services and with exercising, under his authority, any other functions the Government may entrust them with in the execution of the Acts for the application of which the Minister may be responsible; the Government may appoint the members of such bodies, fix their attendance allowances and fees and their terms of office.

1974, c. 40, s. 24; 1981, c. 22, s. 34.

11.1. The Government may authorize the Minister to delegate to the Fonds de recherche du Québec, established by the Act respecting the Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation (chapter M-14.1), the powers granted to it in Division XII of the Health Insurance Act (chapter A-29) for the awarding of research scholarships.

1981, c. 22, s. 34; 1983, c. 23, s. 110; 1999, c. 8, s. 29; 2003, c. 29, s. 140; 2006, c. 8, s. 31; 2011, c. 16, s. 244; 2019, c. 29, s. 1; 2024, c. 16, s. 10.

11.2. (Repealed).

2010, c. 20, s. 30; 2013, c. 16, s. 147; 2016, c. 7, s. 10.

11.3. (Repealed).

2010, c. 20, s. 30; 2011, c. 18, ss. 195 and 326; 2014, c. 16, s. 81; 2015, c. 8, ss. 195 and 305; 2016, c. 7, ss. 11 and 10.

11.4. (Repealed).

2010, c. 20, s. 30; 2011, c. 18, s. 196; 2016, c. 7, s. 10.

11.5. (Repealed).

2010, c. 20, s. 30; 2011, c. 18, s. 197; 2013, c. 16, s. 148; 2016, c. 7, s. 10.

11.6. (Repealed).

2010, c. 20, s. 30; 2011, c. 18, s. 198.

11.7. (Repealed).

2010, c. 20, s. 30; 2011, c. 18, s. 199; 2016, c. 7, s. 10.

11.7.1. The Health and Social Services Information Resources Fund is established. The Fund is dedicated to financing the department’s activities relating to installation, maintenance and repair services for any technological medium used by a health and social services agency, by a health or social services institution, or by another body or person in the health and social services network, support services for users of those technological media, information resource management services, and information asset design, production and supply services for the providers.

2012, c. 31, s. 1.

11.7.2. The following are credited to the Fund:

(1)  the sums collected to carry out the department’s activities referred to in section 11.7.1;

(2)  the sums transferred to the Fund by the Minister out of the appropriations granted for that purpose by Parliament;

(3)  the sums transferred to the Fund by the Minister of Finance under section 53 or 54 of the Financial Administration Act (chapter A-6.001);

(4)  the gifts and legacies expressly intended for the Fund, and other contributions paid into the Fund to further the achievement of its objects; and

(5)  the interest earned on bank balances in proportion to the sums referred to in paragraphs 1 and 4.

2012, c. 31, s. 1.

11.7.3. Sums may be debited from the Fund to pay any costs relating to an investment and any expenditure required to carry out the department’s activities referred to in section 11.7.1.

2012, c. 31, s. 1.

11.8. (Repealed).

2010, c. 20, s. 30; 2011, c. 18, s. 200.

11.9. (Repealed).

2010, c. 20, s. 30; 2011, c. 18, s. 200.

11.10. (Repealed).

2010, c. 20, s. 30; 2011, c. 18, s. 200.

12. The Minister shall, within the six months following the end of each fiscal year, lay before the National Assembly a report on the activities of his department for such year.

1970, c. 42, s. 11.

12.1. The Minister shall prepare the health accounts for each fiscal year.

The Minister shall table the health accounts in the National Assembly on or before 31 December following the end of the fiscal year or, if the Assembly is not sitting, within 15 days of resumption.

2010, c. 20, s. 31.

12.2. The health accounts must contain the information necessary to explain the performance and the financial position of the health and social services system. The health accounts must contain, among other things,

(1)  a statement of revenue and expenditure of the system; and

(2)  information on the size and composition of the health care workforce and indicators relating to the volume and nature of the care provided.

2010, c. 20, s. 31.

13. (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 and regulations (chapter R-3), chapter M-23 of the Revised Statutes, in force on 1 September 1985, is repealed effective from the coming into force of chapter M-19.2 of the Revised Statutes.