Joining a committee

If you wish to become involved in defending the rights of users within a users committee and thus contribute to improving the quality of care and services offered, you must remember that all your actions must comply with the LSSSS, which defines the mandate and functions of a committee. Users committees are neither recreational organizations nor lobby groups. Their mandate and functions are defined by law, and their actions are limited to their facility, territory, and clientele.

Likewise, you must act in the interests of all users. Committee work demands a great deal of availability in addition to requiring the development of the knowledge and skills needed to carry out the functions attributed by law.

• In collaboration with other committee members, work to improve the quality of services offered to users in your facility, sector, or territory, and defend their rights as users.
• Organize activities to promote and raise awareness of users’ rights among users, facility staff, and the general 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, polls, and questionnaires to assess the level of satisfaction of the facility’s users or of a targeted clientele.
• Accompany a user, at their request, in a complaint process.
• Depending on your skills and tastes, write activity reports, organize promotional, information, and consultation activities, handle management and administration, and report on results.
• 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 leisure activities.
• Participate in political activism.