Personal rights law

Your reputation is a valuable asset that must be protected.

Our expertise covers:

• Defamation and reputational harm claims;

• Protection of image rights and privacy;

• Actions against the dissemination of false information;

• Harm to dignity and honor;

• Injunction and content removal requests;

• Claims for damages.

Whether the harm originates from media, social networks, or public communications, we act swiftly to protect your reputation and obtain redress.

Discrimination and violations of human rights may arise in various contexts.

Our lawyers’ services include:

• Remedies for discrimination (employment, housing, public services);

• Discrimination complaints (age, sex, origin, sexual orientation, disability);

• Protection against discrimination based on age, sex, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, etc.;

• Complaints before the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse;

• Enforcement of rights guaranteed by the charters;

• Compensation for harm suffered;

• Representation before the Commission des droits de la personne.

We defend your fundamental rights with rigor and determination, prioritizing the most effective remedies for your situation.

A human rights lawyer intervenes when an individual’s rights, dignity, or capacity are at stake, particularly in matters of discrimination, guardianship, protective supervision or to protect vulnerable persons and seniors.

The legal protection of incapacitated or vulnerable persons requires expertise and sensitivity.

Our services include:

• Establishment of protective regimes (guardianship, protection mandate);

• Court approval of protection mandates in cases of incapacity;

• Challenges to mandates or protective regimes;

• Replacement of unsuitable guardians or mandatary representatives;

• Accounting and oversight of administration;

• Protection of the rights of older persons;

• Defence against abuse and exploitation.

We ensure that decisions made always serve the protected person’s best interests, while respecting their rights and residual autonomy.

In Canada, the law prohibits discrimination based on race, origin, colour, citizenship, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, family status, marital status, and religion.

Online defamation consists of publishing statements or allegations that harm a person’s honour or reputation, whether those statements are false or true. In Quebec, such harm may give rise to civil liability and result in claims for damages.

Tutorship for adults and protection mandates are two distinct protection regimes for incapacitated persons. One occurs when an adult is or becomes incapacitated, while the other is prepared in advance, in anticipation of incapacity.

Tutorship is a legal protection regime established when an adult is unable to care for themselves, manage their property, or both, and needs representation in the exercise of their civil rights. The appointed tutor can therefore be a tutor to the person, to property, or both.

Tutorship to property consists of simple administration of assets; thus, the tutor is responsible for preserving and maintaining them without changing their purpose. The tutor to the person, meanwhile, is responsible for the custody and care of the protected adult.

The protection mandate, for its part, stems directly from the will of the represented adult. It is a document prepared while the person is still capable, in anticipation of a possible future incapacity. This regime thus allows the individual to designate their representative(s) for property and/or for their person, should they become incapacitated.

To be valid, the protection mandate must be executed by a notarial act or before witnesses. It may be gratuitous or for consideration. Generally, when no remuneration is specified, there is a presumption of gratuity when the mandatary is a natural person, and of remuneration when it is a professional mandatary.

The homologation of the protection mandate makes it enforceable, following the determination of the mandator’s incapacity.

Regardless of the chosen regime, all decisions made within the framework of a tutorship or a protection mandate must, as far as possible, respect the wishes of the incapacitated adult and always aim for their best interest.

The opening of tutorship may be requested by the adult themselves, their spouse, close relatives and in-laws, any person demonstrating a particular interest in the adult, or any other interested party, including the mandatary designated by the adult or the Public Curator. The opening of tutorship is then ordered by the court.