Plaidoyer Victimes is concerned with the quality of the services it provides to victims who wish to receive information, be directed to resources that can help them, be supported in some of their steps and be heard. Before resorting to the official complaint mechanism, any victim wishing to express dissatisfaction with the quality of Plaidoyer Victimes’ services, and who considers that his or her rights under the LAPVIC have been infringed, is first invited to do so directly to the person concerned, in writing.
It is the responsibility of the person who receives the communication of a dissatisfaction from a victim to notify general management and inform them of the substance of the complaint.
If the dissatisfaction is not resolved by this prior step, or if the victim prefers not to contact the person concerned directly, a complaint can then be lodged with General Management, according to the process described in the following section, which is intended to be a simple and accessible process. The principles of impartiality, confidentiality, vigilance and respect for the rights of victims apply to every stage of this process.
Plaidoyer Victimes will protect the personal information of all complainants and persons affected by a complaint, in accordance with the Privacy Act and related policies in effect.
Person responsible for receiving complaints
The General Manager is responsible for receiving complaints and informing the Board of Directors within 48 hours. If he or she is not prepared to receive a complaint or is affected by it, the person chairing or vice-chairing the Board of Directors will receive the complaint.
Karine Mac Donald, General Manager
direction@aqpv.ca
Telephone: 514 526-9037 ext. 6
Procedure for filing a complaint
A victim wishing to file a complaint may do so by sending a written complaint by e-mail, mail or fax within 30 working days of the event. Victims can also appoint a representative to file their complaint. To help us understand their dissatisfaction and better respond to their needs, we invite victims to send us complete information and tell us about the difficulties they have encountered:
- Date of complaint;
- Name of complainant or representative;
- Name of the person(s) concerned by the complaint;
- Date(s) of events;
- Detailed description of the situation, including all relevant information to facilitate analysis of the complaint;
- In the case of an alleged violation or denial of rights guaranteed by the LAPVIC, the complainant must specify the right that has been violated or denied and explain the reasons;
- Expectations regarding the outcome of this complaint;
- Contact details for the victim or the person representing the victim to inform them of the outcome of their complaint.
Victims' right to be informed of the outcome of their complaint
The person responsible for receiving complaints is also responsible for informing the victim of the outcome of his or her complaint. In the interest of due diligence, the person responsible will send a written acknowledgement of receipt by e-mail, mail or fax within 5 working days of receiving the complaint.
Following analysis of the complaint, the victim will be informed in writing of the outcome of his or her complaint and of any measures or changes that have been made. To respect the rights of victims, this communication will be drafted in clear, precise language, and the mode of communication chosen will take account of their particular needs.
Handling a complaint
The person responsible for receiving complaints is also responsible for analyzing complaints.
All complaints received by General Management will be investigated within 30 working days. Within the same timeframe, Executive Management must communicate its analysis and decision to the Board of Directors, which has 30 working days to ratify it. The head office then has 5 working days to inform the victim in writing of the outcome of the complaint.
All complaints submitted to the President or Vice-President will be investigated within 30 working days. Within the same timeframe, the President or Vice-President must communicate his or her analysis and decision to the Board of Directors, which has 30 working days to ratify it. The president or vice-president then has 5 working days to inform the victim in writing of the outcome of the complaint.
Should the complaint not be resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant, the latter will have his or her dissatisfaction forwarded to the Board of Directors, which will deal with it in a manner that respects the rights of victims.
Complaint processing time
The AQPV undertakes to deal with the complaint within a maximum of 70 working days of receipt.