OPSI - UNENACTED working proposal v308 | 2026-10-28T08:20:02+00:00 | Corpus 85 DRAFT ORDER REGULATION REGULATION RESPECTING CONCILIATION AND ARBITRATION OF PROFESSIONAL FEES I - PURPOSE AND CONCILIATION Section 1 | ART_LJKPZF7QJEAS7PPS | Version 4 While section 88 of the Professional Code remains applicable, this regulation is made by the board of directors following communication to members under section 95.3 and approved by the Office under section 95.2. The common regulation contemplated by section 12.0.1.2 falls within the Office’s authority and follows its own adoption and approval procedure. This Regulation proposes conciliation and arbitration of professional fee accounts under section 88 of the Professional Code while that provision remains in force. Québec's 2026 Act, chapter 8, provides for a common scheme made by the Office des professions under new section 12.0.1.2; repeal of the existing enabling provision mentioned in the first sentence is deferred until the first regulation under that new provision comes into force. If such a common regulation comes into force and applies to the Order, it must be respected and any inconsistent provisions in this draft must be adapted or displaced as the law requires. Covered accounts include professional service fees and commercial disbursements, but exclude the statutory registry charges and their collection. Section 2 | ART_5Y908L3TZBH2M33R | Version 2 Any person who has paid or is liable to pay a professional fee account, in whole or in part, may request conciliation free of charge from the Order’s secretary within forty-five days after receiving the account, whether unpaid, partly paid or paid in full. If multiple accounts relate to the same professional service or payment is due in instalments, the forty-five-day period begins when the most recent account is received or the latest instalment falls due. The request may cover all accounts issued or instalments due during the preceding year, as provided in section 88 of the Professional Code while it remains in force. If a member deducts or retains amounts from funds held or received for the claimant, time begins only when that person becomes aware of the deduction or retention. A new request for conciliation may be made within forty-five days after a disciplinary council decision expressly questioning the quality or appropriateness of a billed professional act, provided the account has not already been conciliated or arbitrated. Section 3 | ART_GHVSHF1TX0KBBRKS | Version 2 The written request identifies the professional, account, amounts in dispute, reasons and supporting documents, and may be submitted securely online. The secretary acknowledges it and provides the independent conciliator’s details. Section 4 | ART_WHLGQEB4ZVXCP52T | Version 2 The board appoints a conciliator independent of the parties, bound by conflict disclosure and any required oath. If disqualified, a replacement is named without undue delay. Section 5 | ART_Q6CAYKPX7C7DHJ7E | Version 2 The conciliator notifies the professional, obtains an itemized account and relevant submissions and gives both sides a meaningful opportunity to be heard. Remote exchanges are permitted; irrelevant confidential information need not be disclosed. Section 6 | ART_65KJ9Q03CK5TFKXJ | Version 2 Conciliation seeks a written agreement covering any payment or refund, deadlines and discharge. It does not waive professional duties or applicable regulatory fees. Section 7 | ART_3570TTD5VNUUF7JN | Version 2 If no agreement is reached within forty-five days after a complete file is received, or after an agreed extension, the conciliator issues a failure report explaining the arbitration procedure and deadline. Substantive negotiations remain confidential as required by law. II - ARBITRATION Section 8 | ART_TWLNC3V4Y42QPQ2Y | Version 2 Within thirty days after receiving the failure report, the applicant may seek arbitration from the secretary, with accounts and report attached. The secretary notifies the professional and checks statutory admissibility. Section 9 | ART_6KAEJ3GVDS55687E | Version 2 Where the amount in dispute is less than $15,000, the arbitration is heard by one arbitrator; at $15,000 or more, it is heard by three independent arbitrators who choose their chair. The disputed amount is the difference between the account claimed and the amount acknowledged as owing, or the refund sought if the account has already been paid. Case complexity does not change the number of arbitrators. The $15,000 threshold is a proposed regulatory choice based on section 15 of the Québec notaries' regulation (N-3, r. 12.1) and remains subject to economic validation for OPSI. The board appoints at least four eligible, knowledgeable and independent arbitrators for renewable two-year terms and appoints a secretary to the arbitration council. The secretary assigns cases by rotation among available impartial arbitrators, establishes a panel of one or three according to the first paragraph and gives the parties written notice of the names and composition. No arbitrator may serve after taking part in conciliation of the same case or where there is an actual, potential or apparent conflict; each signs a confidentiality and impartiality declaration and takes any required oath. The parties may give written notice of a ground for disqualification within ten days of notification or of later learning of the ground. The secretary, after consulting an independent arbitrator not challenged, decides the challenge in writing and appoints a replacement by the same rotation; if no listed arbitrator is available, the board appoints an independent substitute for that case. No internal policy or future guide may change the monetary threshold, number of arbitrators or these safeguards. Section 10 | ART_3B1C38W9JTJL37E0 | Version 2 The arbitration secretary fixes the date, time and format of the hearing and gives the parties at least ten days' written notice; the notice identifies the arbitrators, permitted representation, a reasonable deadline for evidence and means of consulting filed material. Each party receives the material relied upon against it with meaningful time to respond and may present submissions, witnesses and relevant documents. The panel decides procedural matters and may adjourn for serious cause. Section 11 | ART_UHJNGR74BZ6ZU8P5 | Version 2 Hearings may proceed by video if fairness, confidentiality and witness questioning are protected. The tribunal rules on necessary evidentiary issues without deciding disputes outside its jurisdiction. Section 12 | ART_TSFTUJZBYNPH849F | Version 2 The arbitration panel issues a written, reasoned award within forty-five days after the hearing ends, subject to a lawfully permitted and reasoned extension. It upholds, reduces or cancels the account, may order a full or partial refund of fees already received and specifies amounts, due dates and the allocation of disbursements strictly authorized under section 13. Three arbitrators decide by majority, or the sole arbitrator decides. The secretary serves the award and cost decision on the parties within ten days after filing. Applicable statutory remedies and enforcement procedures remain unaffected. Section 13 | ART_0J60AEAYE6RY3LT3 | Version 4 Conciliation and submission of an arbitration application are free of charge: the filing and referral fee and any mandatory advance payable by the applicant are $0. No deposit, security or other advance payment is a condition of admission or hearing of an arbitration application. Each party normally bears its own representation, preparation and travel expenses, subject to any contrary mandatory rule. Arbitrators' remuneration and ordinary administrative costs are paid from the Order’s general fund, without exclusion based on the source of revenue, with analytical allocation and detailed accounting reconciliation. In its award, the panel may allocate between the parties only external disbursements actually paid by the Order, necessary to hold the arbitration and supported by records in the file; the aggregate amount chargeable to the parties must never exceed 10% of the disputed amount defined in section 9. No flat administrative fees, penalties or undocumented expenses may be added. The panel expressly gives reasons for allocating such disbursements, taking into account the result, proportion of claims accepted and parties' good faith; it may leave all disbursements payable by the Order but must not obstruct access to the remedy. Any payment collected without authority or beyond a party's allocated share must be refunded in full within thirty days after the award. These numerical rules appear in this draft Regulation itself and are not deferred to a later schedule; they remain subject to the competent regulatory approval and any eventual common scheme under section 12.0.1.2 of the Code. Section 14 | ART_P2UGRWR9CTHX1EWP | Version 2 Under section 88 of the Professional Code while it remains in force, a member may not bring an action to recover fees before expiry of the time allowed to request conciliation. If conciliation is requested, such an action may not be brought before the regulatory deadline to request arbitration has expired; if arbitration is requested, the member waits until the award, subject to other mandatory legal rules. As an exception, the syndic, designated for this purpose by this Regulation, may authorize an earlier action where serious grounds suggest recovery would otherwise be jeopardized. Authorization must be in writing and give reasons, and does not remove the client’s statutory entitlement to conciliation or arbitration. Prescription periods change only where the law so provides. Section 15 | ART_9HNXZPGAEVJT6Q7P | Version 2 Applications, settlements and awards are kept confidential for the legally required period. Published statistics are anonymized and may not compromise professional secrecy. Section 16 | ART_SNAXF8M5LM6D6WRJ | Version 3 A fee decision does not determine building compliance or discipline and never changes the amount, payer or chargeable event for the statutory registry fees.