Preparation for a hearing

It is very important for you to prepare before appearing at your hearing. In particular, you must ensure the presence of your witnesses and that you prepare your documents to be filed as evidence.

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You may be represented by a lawyer or you may act alone. If you choose to act alone, we recommend you to study the Building Act, the related regulations and the Regulation respecting the rules of practice of the Régie du bâtiment du Québec.

Legal persons may be represented by one of their officers or directors, or by a lawyer. This representative must file the written appearance form [Fr] – PDF (593 KB). If the representative is not a lawyer, they must also provide a copy of their mandate (resolution of the Board of Directors or document signed by all the directors). These documents may be sent to the Bureau des régisseurs or filed on the day of the hearing.

You must summon your witnesses (in writing or verbally) and ensure their availability. They must be customers or persons who have a personal knowledge of the facts related to the alleged breaches. All the witnesses must make their statements under oath.

If you want to call witnesses during the hearing, you must send their names and phone numbers to the Bureau des régisseurs at least 10 days before the hearing.

If there is too much participants considering the social distancing measures to follow, we will suggest alternatives to hear their testimonies.

If you plan to file documents (contracts, photos, letters, emails, etc.) to support your arguments, you must send them to the Bureau des régisseurs at least 10 days before the hearing. This will limit the exchange of documents during the in-person hearing and all parties to have all of the documents for the virtual hearing. Prepare your documents and organize them to find them easily.

The hearings are normally held in French, but each participant has the right to speak in French or English. If you cannot fully understand other participants or if you wish to speak in another language, you may be accompanied by an interpreter. This service is at your expense and you are responsible for hiring your interpreter.

However, if you have a hearing disability, please contact the Bureau des régisseurs as soon as possible so that you can be accompanied by an interpreter, for free, during the hearing.

Before the hearing, we strongly recommend:

• to have, for you, your representatives (e.g., lawyers) and your witnesses:
  • The notice of intention and the notice of convocation indicating the time of the hearing and, if applicable, the place and meeting ID to access the virtual room.
  • Supporting documents that you received from the Direction des affaires juridiques of the RBQ and, if applicable, the documents you sent to the Bureau des régisseurs. For witnesses, only supporting documents relating to their testimony are necessary.
  • A pen and a piece of paper to take notes.
• To consult the page Conduct of the hearing.