Case information

Status of persons — Youth protection — Applications raising encroachment of rights — Court-ordered corrective measures going beyond situation of young person covered by applications — Jurisdiction of Court of Québec to order remedial measures that are systemic in nature — Scope of powers conferred by s. 91 in fine of Youth Protection Act where Court of Québec judge makes order imposing corrective measures after declaring that rights have been encroached upon as result of systemic or institutional shortcomings — Extent to which financial considerations may defeat functional considerations that weigh in favour of useful and effective systemic remedy following declaration of encroachment of rights by court specialized in matter — Whether Court of Québec had jurisdiction to order corrective measures relating to CISSS A even though institution was not named as party in case — Youth Protection Act, CQLR, c. P-34.1, s. 91.

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In December 2018, applications raising an encroachment of rights under s. 91 in fine of the Youth Protection Act, CQLR, c. P-34.1, were filed in the Court of Québec, Youth Division, by the interveners X, A and B — a young person under the protection of the respondent Director of Youth Protection (“DYP”) and her parents. The applications concerned the young person’s treatment during stays in treatment and supervision units, where she had been subject to multiple isolation and restraint measures. The Court of Québec declared that the young person’s rights had been encroached upon and ordered corrective measures, some of which were systemic in nature. The DYP appealed those measures to the Superior Court, successfully arguing that the Court of Québec’s orders were overbroad. The appellant, the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse, then appealed that judgment to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal essentially accepted the Superior Court’s conclusions: the initial orders went beyond the young person’s situation and therefore exceeded the Court of Québec’s powers.