The Ministère du Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale (MTESS) has almost unlimited investigative powers to demonstrate, at the time of the investigation, that a person received sums of money to which he or she was not entitled. The investigator has the right to act under the Act respecting public inquiry commissions.
Despite this authority under the Act, we denounce in this section practices that we have witnessed in several cases. By denouncing these situations, our firm wants to be the voice of these poor people who have no voice. Welfare recipients are not really represented by any major lobby or lobby group, and we will always make it our duty to speak out against injustice.
The Investigation for Married Life and the Protection of Privacy
In some marital life cases, investigators went to interview the teachers as well as the staff of the children’s daycare. We believe that children are third parties of their parents and that the Ministry should not go and interview their teachers. By investigating their environment, children find themselves in a situation of stigmatization. We must encourage and support our youth so that they continue their education and do not find themselves in the same system as their parents.
In another case, the investigator went to retrieve a copy of the medical record of a client who had HIV to verify who was accompanying her to her treatments. We believe that this constitutes an invasion of a person’s privacy and that the evidence thus obtained brings the administration of justice into disrepute.
We believe that the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec , which hears appeals against inquest files for married life, should begin to apply the Canadian Charter and the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. The change in philosophy is likely to be long, but it is necessary according to our personal opinion.
A dangerous practice for sick providers
It is essential to denounce these situations to bring about change. We have campaigned for years to denounce social assistance that puts the lives of claimants at risk by cancelling their medication overnight.
Many of our clients who are found to be unfit for work for psychiatric reasons have been warned that they are no longer entitled to medication because the Ministry assumes they are in a relationship.
The right to a lawyer and incriminating statements
Recently, an investigator who was interviewed by the undersigned at trial admitted that she never informed claimants that they had the right to contact a lawyer before making a statement. It should be noted that the Department consistently uses statements obtained as part of an investigation to incriminate our clients.
The investigator must do his job; however, there is a way to do it. We have seen people lose their jobs as a result of the investigator contacting his boss.
If you are under investigation, the best advice we can give you is to contact our office as soon as you receive a notice of meeting from the Ministry so that we can guide you in your file.
If you have received a claim from social assistance or a decision cancelling or reducing your social assistance benefits, our firm can also represent you.
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