Institution’s Users’ Committee

The CUE has the three (3) following responsibilities:

• Represent the institution’s users’ committees/comités des usagers (CU) and residents’ committees/comités des résidents (CR);
• Coordinate those committees;
• Harmonize practices across committees.

In performing the statutory functions stated below, the CUE adopts a general (regional) perspective that takes into account all the user groups, the institution’s missions, and the territory in which it operates:

With regard to users and residents (Section 185, Act respecting the Governance of the Health and Social Services System [LGSSSS], the CUE must:

• inform them of their rights and obligations;
• foster the improvement of the quality of their living conditions and participate in the assessment of their degree of satisfaction with regard to the services obtained from the institution;
• defend their common rights and interests;
• at the request of a person, defend the person’s rights and interests as a user or a resident before any competent authority;
• accompany and assist, on request, any user or resident, in any action they undertake, including when they wish to file a complaint.

To properly fulfil its role, the CUE must also:

• ensure the proper functioning of each of the users’ and residents’ committees, and see that they have the resources necessary to exercise their functions (Section 185, LGSSSS);
• advise the president and executive director of the possibility of forming a residents’ committee common to a number of facilities grouped by the president and executive director (Section 180, paragraph 2, LGSSSS);
• establish their operating rules (Section 185, LGSSSS);
• submit a yearly report of its activities to the institution board of directors/conseil d’administration d’établissement (CAE) and to the national users’ committee/comité national des usagers (CNU) (Section 186, LGSSSS);
• establish and maintain communication channels with all CU and CR;
• collaborate with the CNU, the institution, all CUE, CU, and CR, and other RSSS partners in carrying out their duties;
• represent the CU and CR by welcoming their recommendations;
• ensure the coordination of activities relating to CU and CR activities;
• see to the harmonization of CU and CR practices, in collaboration with the CNU;
• implement the recommendations, rules, policies and procedures established by the CNU and the headquarters of Santé Québec;
• manage the budget provided by the institution and validate the allocation of funds earmarked for the CU it oversees, in accordance with the established budgetary parameters;
• keep accounting records and the supporting documentation needed to prepare its financial report and annual reporting;
• implement rules for authorizing CUE, CU, and CR expenses in compliance with eligible expenditure rules, and validate budget-use priorities;
• submit, on an annual basis, a list of its key priorities and recommendations for improving the quality of care and services to the CAE and the CNU, along with copies to the comité de vigilance et de la qualité (CVQ) and the CEO;
• adhere to the institution’s civility and harassment-prevention policies;
• establish dispute resolution mechanisms, such as self-assessment, mediation, and conciliation, to resolve potential issues within the CUE, the various CU and CR, between these committees, or with the institution.

To qualify, candidates must:

• have some experience working on a CU or CR or experience representing users;
• show an interest in promoting users’ collective rights;
• have the support of two other users from their region.

A majority of the members of a users’ committee must be users. If such a majority is impossible to achieve, the users may elect any other person of their choice, provided that person does not work for an institution or the head office of Santé Québec or practice their profession within the institution. However, a person acting as an informal caregiver of a user or resident may be elected to sit on a users’ committee even if the person works for Santé Québec or practices their profession within the institution (Section 183, Act respecting the governance of the health and social services system [LGSSSS])).

Applicants must be independent: they must not have any direct or indirect relationships or interests, in particular of a financial, commercial, professional or philanthropic nature, that could interfere with the quality of their decisions with regards to the institution’s interests.

As such, a person is not considered independent if they are:

• employed by or practicing their profession at the institution on the date of the election (exception Section 183, LGSSSS);
• an immediate family member of the president and executive director (PDG), Associate President and CEO (PDGA), or a senior executive of the institution;
• considered to be connected to the institution, meaning they are:
  • the child of a person referred to in the preceding paragraphs;
    • an immediate family member living in the same household;
    • a person with whom a board member is associated;
    • any person a board member may be inclined to favour due to their relationship (including a close connection or business relationship), either with them or a third party, their status, their title, or other.

All persons connected by blood, marriage, civil union, common-law union, or adoption are considered to be related.

If you would like to apply, download the application form from the Documentation section below or request the form from the election chairman Adriana Krasteva by email.

The application period will run from January 19 and February 6, 2026.

The application period runs from January 19, 2025 to February 6, 2026.

To submit an application to become a member of the CUE, you must complete the application form from the Documentation section below and ensure it has been signed by two other users of the institution. 

You must submit the original copy of your application form, along with a photo* of yourself, to the election chairperson Adriana Krasteva by email before the application deadline, which is February 6, 2026, at 5:00 pm:

Election chairperson : Adriana Krasteva

* Information regarding personal information

Personal information collected by the electoral committee  is used to manage the application process for the CUE, in accordance with the Act respecting Access to Documents held by Public Bodies and the Protection of Personal Information (R.L.R.Q., c. s-2.1). It will only be used for this purpose, will only be accessible to individuals authorized to validate your application or support for the CUE, will not be disclosed to third parties without your consent, and will be destroyed in accordance with our retention standards.      

The election committee will validate the candidate’s eligibility and will accept or reject the application submitted during the designated validation period.

• Election Notice - long version
• Application form
• Processus électoral (in French only)
• Directive – Comités des usagers d’établissement (in French only)

For additional information, please contact the election chairperson:

Adriana Krasteva

Email: adriana.krasteva@ssss.gouv.qc.ca