To make justice more accessible and less expensive, the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, is preparing to table a bill that puts notaries and their practice to work, we learned. The duty from a person familiar with the matter.
The intention would be to bring the work of notaries to the 21e century, notably by abandoning paper in favor of digital technology.
Basically, the bill would target two projects.
The first would be digital, according to the information obtained: it would aim to make life easier for citizens and notaries alike with an online platform for notarial acts.
This new digital – and centralized – registry would replace the one that each notary keeps in his office. However, only notaries could access and research it. However, citizens would still have access – as is currently the case – to the online land register, which contains all real estate transactions.
Such an online platform could save citizens a lot of headaches in the event of a fire or flood that destroys the registries of notary offices: thousands of notarial deeds were burned and lost forever in the tragedy of Megantic lake.
In addition, Quebecers who are now used to signing documents on their tablets and computers could now also do so at their notary for notarial acts, such as sales or mortgage contracts. In certain specific cases, the signature could be applied remotely, which would simplify the process.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Legault government had also adopted a ministerial decree authorizing the use of electronic signature, remotely, to finalize a notarial deed.
The second change would target certain contracts, such as money loans: the lender and the borrower could agree, directly in the notarial deed, the consequences of non-compliance with the contract. For example, in the event of non-payment of several monthly mortgage payments, the notarial deed could be given directly to a bailiff. The latter could immediately seize property or bank accounts. It would therefore not be necessary to go before a judge for measures to be taken.
Which would obviously free up magistrates who could then hear other cases, in courthouses which are swamped with files.
A previous version of this text, which indicated that the permission to authorize the use of electronic signature to finalize a notarial act had ended, has been modified. This authorization has been extended until August 31, 2024.