The Commission de l’administration publique held, in Québec, on Thursday March 29, 2018, a hearing on the special report by the Québec Ombudsperson.

This report, entitled Private seniors’ residences: more than just rental businesses, was made public on June 16, 2016.

In her report, the Ombudsperson pointed out that the implementation of the recommendations the report contained was based on mobilization and the pooling of a variety of expertise, including that of the Régie du logement, to which the Régie concurred.

However, it is inaccurate to suggest that, as it was reported by the media covering the Commission’s work, the Régie du logement takes an average time of 15 months before hearing a case. In 2016-2017, the average time to hear an urgent civil case was 1.7 months.

The Régie points out that each application filed is assessed and categorized for the planning of its rolls. The type of recourse, the object of the application and the reasons given in the application are then taken into account. Every application whose reasons involve risks to the occupants’ health or safety is placed in the category of urgent civil cases. The applications relating to the provision of services to individuals, such as care or the dispensing of medication in private seniors’ residences, are registered in that category.

The media also pointed out that the Régie du logement and the Secrétariat aux aînés were absent from the hearing of the Commission de l’administration publique. This is explained simply by the time devoted to the work, which made it impossible to hear all the bodies called by the Ombudsperson.

Hence, the Commission asked the Ombudsperson to identify the two bodies she wanted to be heard as a priority, and the Ombudsperson’s management committee did not determine that the presence of the Régie du logement was necessary. Despite that, a lawyer from the Régie’s Office of the Chair was present to provide support and answer all the technical questions within his field of competence.

To obtain additional information, go to the Régie du logement’s website at www.rdl.gouv.qc.ca. You may also reach the Régie du logement by phone:

Montréal, Laval and Longueuil

514 873-BAIL (2245)

Elsewhere

1 800 683-BAIL (2245)

The Régie du logement is the tribunal with exclusive jurisdiction over rental housing in Québec.