Processing of complaints or disclosures
To ensure the continuous improvement of its services, the Ministère has adopted a
policy (in French) and a
procedure governing the handling of complaints concerning regulated childcare services (in French) .
In addition, under the Act to facilitate the disclosure of wrongdoings relating to public bodies, which has been in force since May 1, 2017, the Ministère has a
procedure for handling disclosures of wrongdoings relating to subsidized childcare permit holders and home childcare coordinating offices (CO) (in French).
In particular, the Ministère undertakes to:
- contact you in the five business days following receipt of your complaint or disclosure to confirm reception and begin the review;
- take all necessary measures to ensure that your identity remains confidential;
- inform you of the outcome of the review process.
Any person, regardless of whether or not they are affiliated with the Ministère, a day care service or a CO, can file a complaint or make a disclosure to the Ministère.
What is a complaint?
A complaint is the expression of dissatisfaction with a behaviour or decision of the Ministère as part of its activities and services, or with the services of a day care or home childcare coordinating office. Complaints are related to the law, regulation or administrative standards in effect.
A complaint can therefore be submitted with regard to:
- a decision of the Ministère
- a service rendered by a Ministère staff member
- a policy, program or standard administered by the Ministère, affecting children and families
- a service rendered by a day care service or home childcare coordinating office.
Before filing a complaint against a day care service or home childcare coordinating office, please note that they are the ones are primarily responsible for the quality of the services offered. You may be able to find appropriate solutions to the issue raised in the complaint, and maintain the relationship of trust, by approaching them first.
How to file a complaint?
By phone
By contacting the Information Service:
Toll-free : 1-855-336-8568
In writing
By sending your complaint or your disclosure to:
Direction de l'amélioration des services à la clientèle et de la gestion des plaintes
Ministère de la Famille
600, rue Fullum, 5e étage
Montréal (Québec) H2K 4S7
By filling out the
following form (in French).
What is a disclosure?
A disclosure is a denunciation, made in the public interest, of a wrongful act that was committed or is about to be committed. Such an act refers to a gesture, an omission or a behaviour that significantly deviates from practices and attitudes that are generally accepted in public bodies.
All aspects of the act in question, namely, the intent, the seriousness, the recurrence, the position of the author and the consequences of the act, must be taken into consideration and weighed in order to confirm whether it is in fact a disclosure.
According to section 4 of the
Act to facilitate the disclosure of wrongdoings relating to public bodies (the Act), any act of wrongdoing would constitutes or consists in, as the case may be,
- a contravention of a Québec law, of a federal law applicable in Québec or of a regulation made under such a law,
- a serious breach of the standards of ethics and professional conduct,
- a misuse of funds or property belonging to a public body, including the funds or property it manages or holds for others,
- gross mismanagement within a public body, including an abuse of authority,
- any act or omission that seriously compromises or may seriously compromise a person’s health or safety or the environment, or
- directing or counselling a person to commit a wrongdoing described in any of paragraphs 1 to 5.
Under the Act, the disclosure of wrongdoings relating to a childcare centre (CPE), a subsidized day care centre or a CO can be made to the ministère de la Famille or the Québec Ombudsman.
It should be noted that non-subsidized day care centres are not covered by the Act.
How can you make a disclosure?
If your disclosure concerns an educational childcare service:
If your disclosure concerns an employee of the Ministère de la Famille:
It should be noted that disclosures are treated as confidential, and access to email and voicemail boxes is restricted.
Are you dissatisfied with how the Ministère handled your complaint or disclosure?
Regarding a complaint
You can request that a decision be revised by the Ministère's Bureau des plaintes et de l’amélioration de la qualité. The request must be made in writing no later than 30 business days following receipt of the complaint review outcome from the Ministère. The reasons for the request must be included.
If, at the end of this revision, you are still dissatisfied with the outcome, you can contact the
Québec Ombudsman.
Regarding a disclosure
If you are dissatisfied with how a disclosure was handled, you may communicate directly with the
Québec Ombudsman.
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