The CAAP is a community organization that is funded by the health and social services minister (Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux). We determine our mission, methods, practices, and priorities independently. The CAAP is a non-profit organization (NPO) governed by a Board of Directors elected by our members.
We accompany and inform our users independently of the complaints commissioners’ offices and other components of the health network. We serve the public.
The CAAP’s role in the health and social services network is recognized in sections 76.6 and 76.7 of the ARHSSS.
Excerpt from the Act respecting health services and social services (ARHSSS)
“76.6. The Minister must […] give a community organization in the region the mandate to assist and support, on request, users residing in the region who wish to address a complaint to an institution in the region […].
76.7. [The organization] shall, on request, assist a user in any step undertaken to file a complaint with an institution or agency or with the Health Services Ombudsman, and provide support to the user throughout the proceeding, including when the complaint is referred to the council of physicians, dentists and pharmacists of an institution. The community organization shall provide information on the complaints process, help the user define the subject of the complaint, draft the complaint where necessary and provide assistance and support on request to the user at each stage of the proceeding, facilitate conciliation between the user and any authority concerned and contribute, through the support so afforded, to the user’s satisfaction and the enforcement of the user’s rights.”
Source: Publications Québec