Law in Quebec

News about Quebec legal developments

sexual assault

  • Quebec Appeal Court rules conditional discharge may be granted in sexual assault cases, if circumstances warrant it

    An aspiring estate agent found guilty of sexually assaulting his ex-partner has had his eight-month imprisonment sentence to be served in the community overturned by the Quebec Court of Appeal after it ruled that a conditional discharge, while a rare measure for sexual assault, may be granted when the circumstances warrant it.

    In a decision that examines the evolving and thorny notion of consent, the principle of proportionality in sentencing and to a lesser extent the concept of “best interests,” the Appeal Court held that the appellant’s lack of understanding of consent does not reduce his legal liability but reduces his moral responsibility, particularly in light of the introspection that followed and the remorse he felt. That is a finding that criminal lawyers will undoubtedly resort to, according to legal pundits.

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  • Monday’s Medley – Issue 04

    Each Monday I intend to provide a potpourri of Quebec (and Canadian) legal developments. Issue 04 takes a brief look at a rare public stance taken by the Court of Quebec, a college ordered to pay $10,000 in damages, and a popular online food delivery company accused of drip pricing.

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  • Quebec family law reform prompts questions from experts

    A proposed Quebec legislative reform that recognizes and regulates surrogacy in order to protect the best interests of the child, establishes new regulations on parentage, and aims to protect children born as a result of sexual assault has been commended by notaries but drawn mixed reaction from family law experts.

    Bill 12, part of an ongoing effort by the provincial government to revamp family law, allows a child born as a result of rape to challenge his filiation to the assailant, compels the aggressor to pay compensation to meet the child’s needs, amends the Civil Code of Québec to specify the various ways of establishing filiation, and puts Quebec on the same footing as several other provinces by giving legal recognition to surrogacy contracts.

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  • Man not criminally responsible because of sexsomnia

    A 46-year old Montrealer accused of sexually assaulting a friend was found not criminally responsible for his actions after Court of Quebec Judge André Perreault found that he suffered from the rare disorder of sexsomnia, a defence that is seldom successful.

    The episode of sexual somnambulism constituted an “automatism,” or an act committed during a state of unconsciousness or grossly impaired consciousness, but “with mental disorder, in the legal sense of the term,” held Judge Perreault, whose verdict neither acquitted nor convicted Yannick Giguère. 

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  • Quebec Appeal Court increases sentence for sexually assaulting a child

    A 21-year old school janitor who sexually assaulted a 13-year old child had his sentence increased to 15 months imprisonment from 90 days by a divided Quebec Court of Appeal after the majority held that the trial judge failed to prioritize denunciation and deterrence as overriding factors.

    The majority decision crystallizes the growing trend to mete out tougher punishments for sexual crimes against children following a seminal Supreme Court of Canada decision, and it appears to send a strong message to trial judges following a recent controversial decision that caused an uproar in the province, according to criminal legal experts.

    “The message is clear,” said Université de Montréal criminal law professor and author Hugues Parent. “When there is no demonstration of rehabilitation on the part of the accused, when it is not convincing, the objectives of denunciation and dissuasion must be predominant, as a priority in child sex cases. So, from that point on, it is certain that the sentence will be very severe.”

    According to Julien Grégoire, a Quebec City criminal lawyer, the Appeal Court judgment illustrates, despite the dissent, that the key principles of the landmark SCC decision in R. v. Friesen, 2020 SCC 9 involving the abuse and exploitation of children, “are now inescapable and it is not enough (for the courts) to state them but to apply them in practice.”

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  • Man acquitted of sexual assault because professional secrecy was breached

    A man convicted of sexually assaulting a four-year-old child was acquitted by the Quebec Court of Appeal after it held that a confession he made during therapy should have been protected by professional secrecy.

    The decision by the divided Appeal Court underlines that therapy group sessions do not mitigate a medical professional’s confidentiality obligations, reaffirms that professionals may be relieved of the duty of confidentiality but only under specific circumstances, and provides guidance over the role the Charter plays in the application of the so-called Wigmore test which determines whether or not communications are privileged, according to criminal lawyers.

    “No one is going to seek treatment if they know that every time they say something, it will be used against them,” noted Marie-Pier Boulet, a Montreal criminal lawyer who heads the Association Of Defense Counsel of Quebec. “Essentially, the Appeal Court wants to protect professional secrecy in a therapeutic setting. Just as we want to protect therapeutic privileges of complainants so that they continue to have confidence that their privacy will be respected, their right to therapy and their right to professional confidentiality, the accused too have that right. Otherwise, no one is going to get help.”

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  • Failed justice

    Errors and omissions by defence counsel, the Crown prosecutor and even the trial judge were not “determinative” after a man who sought to withdraw his guilty plea to sexual assault failed to establish that he sustained subjective prejudice, ruled the Quebec Court of Appeal.

    The unusual case has spurred at least one criminal lawyer to state that the justice system failed the appellant and his family while another held that the Quebec Court of Appeal issued a fair and reasonable decision that heeded guidance by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 2018 leading decision in R. v. Wong, 2018 SCC 25, [2018] 1 S.C.R. In Wong, the SCC held that guilty pleas must be informed.

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  • Quebec appeal court rebukes trial judge over stereotypical attitudes towards sexual assault

    The Quebec Court of Appeal admonished a trial judge who acquitted a father accused of incest for holding biases and stereotypes over the way a sexual assault victim should behave.

    The appellate court, in a brief but unusually blunt and forceful six-page ruling, ordered a new trial against a father who allegedly assaulted his daughter for a 16-year period, from the age of nine until 25. She came forward in 2010 when she was an adult and while living with her parents.

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  • Quebec judge certifies class-action lawsuit against Just for Laughs founder Gilbert Rozon

    A class action launched by 20 women who allege they were sexually assaulted or harassed by the founder of Just for Laughs was certified by Quebec Superior Court.

    In a 36-page ruling, Quebec Superior Justice Donald Bisson highlighted that class actions have “shown their value” in sexual assault cases because they have allowed “hundreds of victims” access to justice.

    “If the plaintiff was not authorized to file the current class action, it is highly likely that many victims would be deprived of their ability to exercise their rights,” said Justice Bisson in Les Courageuses c. Rochon 2018 QCCS 2089. A class action “like this one allows all victims to understand that they are not alone, that the assaults are not their fault and that if they have the courage to come forward to denounce the sexual abuse committed against them, they will make the versions of the other victims more likely.”

    Gilbert Rozon, also the subject of a criminal investigation, has denied the allegations. He unsuccessfully argued that “the fact of being charming while using his power was not in itself a fault,” that it was necessary to question “the consent of the alleged victims which happens in their heads and for which Rozon is not responsible,” and that the class representative — Patricia Tuslane, the only one to publicly come forward – did not offer material evidence to buttress her allegations.

    The class action is seeking up to $400,000 in moral damages for each individual complainant, and a total of $10 million for the group in punitive damages.

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  • Quebec Bar and Ombudsman want to make it easier for alleged victims of sexual assault

    The Quebec Bar and the Quebec Ombudsman want to make it easier for alleged victims of sexual assault to gain access to the legal system and are calling on the provincial government to follow in the footsteps of the overwhelming majority of Canadian provinces and eliminate the prescription period for civil actions in cases of sexual assault.

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Law in Quebec
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