Joining a committee

If you would like to get involved in defending users’ rights on a users committee, and help improve the quality of the care and services offered, remember that all your actions must comply with the LSSSS, which defines a committee’s mandate and functions. Users committees are neither recreational organizations nor pressure groups. Their mandate and functions are defined by law, and their actions are limited to their facility, their territory and their clientele.

You will also need to act in the interest of all users. Committee work requires a great deal of availability and calls for developing knowledge and skills to properly carry out the functions assigned to committees by law.

• Working with the other committee members, help improve the quality of services offered to users in your facility, sector or territory, and defend their rights as users.
• Organize promotional and awareness activities on users’ rights for users, facility staff and the public.
• Welcome and listen to users and residents when they address the committee.
• Organize and take part in meetings with various facility authorities.
• Conduct surveys and questionnaires to assess the satisfaction of the facility’s users or of a specific clientele.
• Accompany a user, at their request, in a complaint process.
• Depending on your skills and interests, write activity reports, organize promotional, information and consultation activities, and handle management, administration and accountability.
• Participate in committee meetings.
• Collaborate with the committee resource person as needed.
• Establish and maintain partnerships with various stakeholders and committees within the facility.
• Promote service quality improvement based on real-life situations in the facility.
• Take training courses to better understand the committee’s functions and mandate.

• Intervene on behalf of users other than those of your facility.
• Use committee resources for purposes other than those provided for by law.
• Organize recreational activities.
• Engage in political activism.