14 Feb 2025
Pre-Budget Brief
As part of the 2025-2026 pre-budget consultations, Juripop recommends that the Minister of Finance maintain investments in legal services dedicated to victims and survivors of violence.
Since the #MeToo movement, Quebec has taken exemplary measures to rebuild victims’ trust in the justice system. Thanks to ambitious legislative reforms and innovative initiatives led by organizations like Juripop, significant progress has been made to support survivors and provide them with better access to justice.
However, these advances remain fragile. Without adequate and recurring funding, the essential services offered to victims will disappear, jeopardizing their access to justice and their safety. In the current context, there is an urgent need to act to maintain and increase investments in these programs to ensure sustainable protection and effective support for all victims. After all the progress made, now is not the time to abandon these efforts.
With this in mind, Juripop has drafted this brief as part of the pre-budget consultations to propose concrete measures that the government could adopt to strengthen support for victims of sexual, domestic, and post-separation violence. By ensuring stable financial support for legal and psychosocial assistance services, Quebec will be able to consolidate the progress made and guarantee every victim equitable access to the justice and protection they need.
PRE-BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS SUMMARY
Juripop makes two major recommendations as part of these pre-budget consultations. These recommendations are part of a vision for a Quebec where victims of sexual and domestic violence have full and equitable access to justice, and where the law continues to evolve to meet their needs. These representations are based on the urgent needs of victims, the proven results of ongoing initiatives, and the opportunities for sustainable transformation of the judicial system. Here is an overview of these recommendations:
- Maintain legal representation services for victims and survivors and continue investments in legal reform
- Juripop requests recurring funding of $515,000 to continue its mission of providing legal support to victims and survivors. These services are essential for hundreds of women seeking justice to ensure their safety, protect their children, and obtain compensation for the violence they have experienced.
- Without this funding, Juripop will have to end its free services for victims and survivors, a program born in the wake of the #MeToo movement that has proven effective both in the field and in court.
- In addition to directly helping hundreds of people, this funding will allow Juripop to continue developing innovative proposals and creating essential case law to protect victims’ rights.
- Ensure legal representation services for represented women victims and survivors
- Juripop requests funding of $388,369, spread over the 2025-2026, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029 fiscal years, to close ongoing legal cases. This amount is essential to meet the commitments made to women victims and survivors who rely on Juripop to carry out complex, lengthy, and necessary civil procedures for their safety and that of their children. Without this funding, dozens of victims will no longer be able to benefit from this support.
- Ensure the sustainability of Aparté, the only legal support center for the cultural sector
- Juripop requests funding of $600,000 per year for the next five fiscal years to ensure the sustainability of Aparté, the only independent one-stop center dedicated to victims of psychological and sexual harassment in the cultural sector.
- These resources will allow Aparté to respond to increasing demand, maintain its critical independence, and develop legal prevention strategies adapted to cultural realities.
By consolidating these pillars, Juripop and the government can continue their collaboration to sustainably rebuild victims’ trust in the justice system.
