Executive Summary: Key Legal and Evidentiary Issues

• Scope of the proposed class concerns individuals whose sensitive personal and medical information held by Santé Québec was allegedly accessed without consent and without valid reason.
• Central legal issue is authorization of a class action in the health-care context for improper access to personal health information, involving privacy and informational security obligations.
• Procedurally, the judgment focuses on whether the plaintiff may amend the authorization application to add two new applicants, additional statutory provisions, and new documentary exhibits.
• The court applies the generous, liberal approach to amendments to pleadings, emphasizing that refusals are exceptional and limited to cases of undue delay, injustice, or creation of an entirely new and unrelated claim.
• Absence of opposition from Santé Québec is noted and supports the conclusion that the proposed amendments do not prejudice the defence or unduly delay the class action proceedings.
• The court ultimately authorizes the filing of the modified authorization application, without granting any monetary relief or costs at this stage.

Background and proposed class action

This case arises from a proposed class action brought in the Class Actions Chamber of the Superior Court of Québec by Geneviève Déziel against Santé Québec. The applicant seeks authorization to institute a class action and to be appointed as the representative plaintiff on behalf of a large group of individuals whose personal and medical information is held by Santé Québec and its establishments. The proposed group includes all natural persons (and their legal representatives, guardians, heirs or other substitutes in consent) who, since 23 April 2003, resided or have resided in Québec, provided personal information to Santé Québec, presented medical problems to an establishment of Santé Québec for treatment, advice or other services, and whose personal information was accessed without consent and without valid reason. The information at issue is highly sensitive: it may include names, health insurance numbers, private insurance details, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, government identification numbers, and medical histories, including physical and psychiatric conditions and treatments received. The underlying merits of the class action have not yet been decided in this judgment; the focus here is a procedural step concerning the content and structure of the authorization application itself.

Alleged privacy breach and nature of the harm

Although the judgment is brief and procedural, it makes clear that the central factual theme of the proposed class action is an alleged privacy breach involving unauthorized consultation of personal information. The class members are people who sought medical care or related services from institutions of Santé Québec and, in doing so, entrusted their personal and medical data to the public health system. The allegation is that certain personal information was consulted “sans consentement et sans motif valable” (without consent and without valid reason), raising issues about the protection of personal health information, internal access controls, and compliance with applicable privacy and health-information legislation. The evidentiary issues that will arise at later stages—though not resolved here—will likely include proof of unauthorized access events, the scope and duration of any data misuse, tracing which records were accessed, and assessing whether and how this access caused compensable prejudice to affected individuals. At this stage, however, the court does not weigh that evidence; it only considers whether the applicant may amend the authorization application to better frame the legal and factual basis of the claim.

Procedural context and request to amend

The judgment deals specifically with a motion to amend the “Demande d’autorisation pour exercer une action collective” (the application for authorization) before the authorization stage is decided. The applicant, Madame Déziel, asks for leave to modify the original authorization application in three main ways: to add two new proposed plaintiffs, to include additional provisions from relevant statutes that may support the legal foundation of the action, and to allege or introduce new documentary exhibits. Because Québec civil procedure requires that amendments to an authorization application in a class action be authorized by the court, the applicant must satisfy the usual admissibility conditions governing amendments to pleadings. The request is therefore framed as a procedural motion, and the court’s role is to determine whether the proposed changes fall within the generous approach to amendments or whether they would improperly transform the nature of the litigation or prejudice the orderly progress of the case.

Court’s analysis on amendment criteria

In assessing the motion, the court recalls that the right to amend is interpreted in a broad and liberal manner under Québec civil procedure. It relies on the general rule that amendments should be allowed unless they cause undue delay, are contrary to the interests of justice, or create a wholly new, unrelated claim compared with the initial demand. The judgment refers to the relevant provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and to appellate guidance that underscores this liberal approach to amendments in ongoing civil proceedings, including class actions. Applying these principles, the judge concludes that the proposed modifications are acceptable. They remain closely connected to the original authorization application, as they do not introduce an unrelated cause of action or fundamentally alter the nature of the dispute. The court also notes that the amendments will not unduly delay the progress of the case and are not contrary to the interests of justice. Additionally, the defendant, Santé Québec, does not contest the motion, which further supports the view that the amendments do not unfairly prejudice the defence or disrupt the orderly management of the class action file.

Outcome and implications for the parties

At the end of its analysis, the Superior Court authorizes the filing of the modified authorization application dated 28 November 2025. This means that Madame Déziel, as applicant, successfully obtains leave to update and expand her pleadings, including adding two new proposed plaintiffs, additional statutory references, and new evidentiary materials. The judgment expressly states that this order is made “sans frais de justice,” so no court costs are awarded to either party, and there is no determination of damages or any other monetary relief. Procedurally, this is a win for the applicant, who is the successful party on the motion; however, the court does not yet authorize the class action itself on the merits, nor does it rule on liability or quantum. As a result, no specific total amount of costs, damages or other monetary award is ordered in favour of the successful party at this stage; the financial consequences, if any, will only be determined in later proceedings, and for now the total amount ordered cannot be determined from this decision.