Do you know what laws were adopted in 2023?

Under gag order, regularly, in controversy or indifference, 37 laws were adopted in the National Assembly of Quebec in 2023. Here is a summary of the most significant legislative changes.

February 15: N^o 2 Law aimed in particular at capping the price indexation rate of Hydro-Québec’s domestic distribution tariffs and at increasing the supervision of the obligation to distribute electricity

It repairs a breach created by another CAQ law, adopted under gag order and which linked electricity prices to inflation. The minister therefore capped the indexation rate at 3% for the residential sector only: he wanted to avoid a surge in prices. However, another law will have to be adopted in 2024 to avoid a significant increase in 2025 when the Energy Authority will have to reevaluate rates.

April 18: N^o 10 Law limiting the use of the services of a personnel placement agency and independent labor in the health and social services sector

The goal of the law, adopted unanimously, is to completely ban private employment agencies in the health field by 2026.

The practice will be prohibited:

• in October 2024 for Montreal, Laval, Montérégie, Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches;
• in October 2025 for Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Mauricie, Centre-du-Québec, Estrie, Lanaudière and the Laurentians;
• in October 2026 for Bas-Saint-Laurent, Outaouais, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord, Nord-du-Québec, Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Nunavik.

May 31: N^o 12 Act relating to the reform of family law in matters of filiation and aimed at the protection of children born following sexual assault and persons who are victims of this assault as well as the rights of surrogate mothers and children born from pregnancy project for others

With this law, a mother who is a victim of rape will be able to refuse her attacker the establishment of her paternity. Nearly 170 children are born from rape each year in Quebec, according to the Ministry of Justice. Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said he was inspired by the case of Océane (fictitious first name), reported by The Press in August 2022, to draft this law. A Quebec court ordered at that time that a 2-year-old toddler be subjected to a DNA test and that the results be sent to his mother’s rapist. It also regulates pregnancy for others, so that the rights of children and mothers are protected.

1^er June: N^o 19 Law on the supervision of child labor

It prohibits children aged 13 and under from working except for certain jobs, such as babysitting, homework help or even a monitor at a summer camp. Since 1^er September, children of working age can no longer have a schedule of more than 17 hours per week during the school year. According to figures from the Ministry of Labor, nearly 90,000 young people under the age of 14 worked part-time.

June 6: N^o 24 Act following up on the recommendations of the report of the Independent Advisory Committee on the review of the annual compensation of members of the National Assembly

This controversial law allowed MPs to vote for a generous 30% salary increase, equivalent to $30,000 per year for a simple MP. But this increase is even more significant for the vast majority of deputies (115 out of 125), who receive additional compensation because they hold a parliamentary function. The Legault government’s law was adopted with the collaboration of the Liberal Party of Quebec. The Parti Québécois and Québec solidaire opposed it and promised that their deputies would restore all or part of this increase based on certain criteria.

June 7: N^o 11 An Act to amend the Act respecting end-of-life care and other legislative provisions

The law expands access to medical assistance in dying for people with disabilities and allows people suffering from serious and incurable illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s, to make an advance request to receive this ultimate care. Specialized nurse practitioners (NPs) will now be able to administer medical assistance in dying, which can be received outside a health establishment or the home, such as at a funeral home or in any other place that was not planned. by the law.

October 3: N^o 29 Law protecting consumers against planned obsolescence and promoting the durability, repairability and maintenance of goods

This law prohibits the sale of goods whose normal operating life has been deliberately limited. It created an “anti-lemon” measure to protect consumers against “seriously defective” automobiles. It innovates with a guarantee of proper functioning for household appliances such as refrigerators and dishwashers. The law will require car manufacturers to transmit all diagnostic data to local mechanics so that they can repair vehicles without hindrance.

November 28: N^o 22 Law concerning expropriation

It responds to a promise from François Legault made to cities, who wanted to pay less when they carry out expropriations to protect territories or to build housing. The law modernizes the Expropriation law by strictly defining the compensation to be paid to the expropriated party.

December 5: N^o 37 Children’s Welfare and Rights Commissioner Act

The Legault government implemented the flagship recommendation of the Laurent commission by establishing a position of commissioner for the well-being and rights of children. He will have the same status as the citizen protector or the auditor general. He will benefit from total independence, will be appointed on the proposal of the Prime Minister following a vote of two-thirds of the deputies and will have the mission of ensuring the protection of the interests of children aged 0 to 17 and young adults ( 18-25 years old) who were taken care of during their childhood by the youth protection department (DPJ).

December 7: N^o 23 An Act mainly to amend the Public Education Act and to enact the Act respecting the National Institute for Excellence in Education

She comes to implement the reform of the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville. It gives him the power to appoint – and dismiss – the general directors of school service centers, to supervise the continuing training of teachers and to improve access to school network data, for example.

December 8: N^o 39 Act to amend the Act respecting municipal taxation and other legislative provisions

Quebec has given cities the power to levy a series of new taxes: a tax on vacant or underused housing and another on vacant land in order to respond to the housing crisis. It will also allow all cities that have public transportation to impose vehicle registration based on their gasoline consumption. The opposition parties associated it with a “blue tax”, comparable to the “orange tax” of Québec solidaire that François Legault criticized during the electoral campaign.

December 8: N^o 15 Act to make the health and social services system more efficient

Adopted under a gag order, this law creates Santé Québec, a state corporation like Hydro-Québec. She will supervise the entire operational aspect of the health network. The definition of major government directions and strategies will remain within the purview of the Ministry of Health and Social Services. Santé Québec also becomes the sole employer of some 330,000 network employees to “reduce bureaucracy” and improve “efficiency”.