Commissioner's and Deputy Commissioner's Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

According to the Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct of the Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner, the Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner must, in the performance of their duties, respect the principles of ethics and the rules of professional conduct provided for by law, the Regulation respecting the ethics and professional conduct of public office holders, the Code of Professional Conduct of Lawyers and the Declaration on ethics in the public service.

In particular, they must carry out their duties in compliance with the law with honesty, loyalty, prudence, diligence, efficiency, fairness and impartiality.

The Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner shall make their decisions without distinction, exclusion or preference based on race, color, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, age except, to the extent provided by the law, religion, political convictions, language, ethnic or national origin, condition, handicap or the use of a means to compensate for this handicap and the hierarchical rank of the police officer.

They must neither study nor decide on a file representing or likely to represent a conflict of interest. The study and the decision in such a file must be denounced to the other who will then assume responsibility for the file.

On April 1 of each year, the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner must prepare a declaration of their financial interests which they must submit to the head of administration to be placed in their personal file.

The Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner are required to keep the most absolute secrecy about what they learn during the study of the files entrusted to them in the application of the law. They can reveal and make known what they have learned only if the law prescribes it. This obligation of confidentiality remains even after they have ceased to perform their duties.

Public Service Act and Regulation Respecting Ethics and Discipline in the Public Service

Any person employed by the Commissaire à la déontologie policière is subject to several relevant obligations in the Public Service Act and the Regulation respecting ethics and discipline in the public service :

• the obligation to be diligent;
• the requirement of competence;
• the obligation of hierarchical obedience;
• the obligation of loyalty and allegiance to constituted authority;
• the obligation of exclusivity of service;
• the obligation to treat citizens with necessities and diligence;
• the duty of secrecy;
• the obligation to demonstrate political neutrality and reserve;
• the obligation to act with honesty;
• the obligation to act impartially;
• the obligation to avoid any conflict of interest;
• post-employment rules.

Code of Ethics of Québec Police Officers

Adopted under section 35 of the Act respecting police organization (replaced by section 127 of the Police Act), the Code of Ethics of Quebec Police Officers (RRQ, P-13.1, r. 1) determine the duties and standards of conduct of police officers, wildlife protection officers, special constables, road controllers, investigators from the Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC) and investigators from the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI) in their dealings with the public in the performance of their duties.

Police Act

The Police Act (Loi sur la police), which came into force on June 16, 2000, incorporated all the provisions of the Act respecting police organization relating to police ethics and of the Police Act (Loi de police).

Rules of Evidence, Procedure and Practice of the Comité de déontologie policière

The Comité de déontologie policière has adopted rules of evidence, procedure and practice (RRQ, P-13.1, r. 2.1) whose purpose is to ensure the rapid and simple unfolding of the police ethics procedure, in respect for the principles of natural justice and equality of the parties. They relate, among other things, to:

• representation of the parties;
• the court list;
• postponements and adjournments;
• presentation of requests;
• pre-hearing conferences;
• subpoena of witnesses;
• the conduct of the hearing;
• the grounds for recusal;
• decisions and their rectification.

Regulation Respecting the Rate of Reimbursement by the Employer of Costs Connected with Conciliation or Investigations as Regards Police Ethics

This regulation concerns the rate of reimbursement by the employer of the costs related to a conciliation or an investigation in matters of police ethics (RSQ, c. O-8.1, s. 58.1 and 68.1; 1997, c. 52, s. 15 and 20).

Regulation Respecting Indemnities and Allowances Payable to Witnesses Summoned Before Courts of Justice

This regulation relates to reimbursements to which the citizen is entitled for:

• absence from home;
• sustenance;
• housing;
• transportation.

Regulation Respecting the Distribution of Information and the Protection of Personal Information

In accordance with the Regulation respecting the distribution of information and the protection of personal information, enabled by the Access Act, the Commissaire à la déontologie policière is required to publish certain documents on its website. This obligation notably allows the population to have quick access to these documents without having to engage in an access request process according to the law.

These documents are available in the Distribution of information section.