How to Start Making a Power of Attorney in Saskatchewan
Making an enduring power of attorney in Saskatchewan: the lawyer route or two witnesses, the prescribed forms, and the Public Guardian's oversight.
How to Start Making a Power of Attorney in Quebec
Making a protection mandate in Quebec: the notarized or witnessed forms, homologation by the court, and the Curateur public's register and oversight.
Applies in: Quebec
The short answer
*In Quebec, the document is the protection mandate (mandat de protection), and it has no effect until the Superior Court homologates it after medical and psychosocial assessments confirm incapacity.* Quebec is civil-law, not common-law. Do not import common-law enduring power of attorney mechanics: there is no sign-and-use property power here, no two-lay-witnesses-suffice rule for property, and no effect on signing.
This guide is process only. It walks the protection-mandate route, as the Government of Quebec and Curateur public pages state it. It gives no legal advice, and it does not advise you on who should be mandatary, what powers to include, or whether your situation needs a lawyer or notary. French terms are stated once, with English throughout. This guide does not re-summarize the national power-of-attorney guide: every rule below is Quebec's own.
What the document is
The protection mandate, formerly called a mandate in case of incapacity, covers both the person — housing, care and well-being — and property. That is unlike a common-law enduring power of attorney, which is property and financial affairs only. A Quebec power of attorney (procuration) for property alone is a different instrument, and it generally ceases to be valid when the protection mandate takes effect.
Making the mandate
Any adult of sound mind may make a protection mandate. It may not be made jointly by two or more persons: each person needs their own. There are two forms only, under article 2166 of the Civil Code of Québec:
- Notarized mandate. A notarial act en minute prepared by a notary.
- Mandate given in the presence of witnesses. A private writing, which may be drawn up by a lawyer or by the mandator themselves using the Curateur public's free form.
Notarized mandates are registered with the Chambre des notaires, and lawyer-prepared mandates with the Barreau du Québec. The Curateur public's register is of homologated mandates only, not of mandates waiting to take effect.
Witnessing the private-writing form
For a mandate given in the presence of witnesses, the rules under article 2167 are:
- The mandator signs in the presence of two witnesses.
- Both witnesses countersign in the mandator's presence.
- The witnesses must have no interest in the act and be able to ascertain the mandator's capacity.
- The mandator declares the nature of the act but need not disclose its contents.
- The witnesses must initial each page.
- The principal or substitute mandatary, and the person who will receive the rendering of accounts, may not witness. The witnesses must be adults of sound mind.
One witness giving a statement under oath — before a notary, lawyer or commissioner for oaths — attesting to capacity and signing is recommended. The Curateur public booklet warns that without it, there is a possibility the mandate may not be homologated.
The mandatary is not stated as being required to sign the mandate when it is made. The booklet advises obtaining the mandatary's agreement, and says the mandatary may refuse at homologation. The homologation application itself is made by the mandatary.
Homologation: the step that gives the mandate effect
The protection mandate has no effect until it is homologated, and the mandatary cannot act on behalf of the mandator before that. The steps, from the Government of Quebec homologation page, are:
- Medical and psychosocial assessments confirming incapacity, by a physician and a social worker or other qualified professional.
- Application to the Superior Court by the mandatary or their lawyer or notary, with the original or certified copy of the mandate, both assessments, and search certificates from the registers of mandates at the Chambre des notaires and the Barreau du Québec. If the mandate was not notarized, a recommended affidavit from one of the two witnesses is also filed.
- Interview of the mandator by the judge, special clerk or notary, unless prevented by serious health problems.
- Court judgment declaring incapacity and homologating the mandate.
The process can take several months, with costs paid from the mandator's patrimony. If the mandate cannot be homologated — because information is missing, or the mandatary or substitute is unable to act — the court may institute a tutorship instead.
After homologation: inventory and accounts
Within 60 days of homologation, the mandatary must inventory all moveable and immoveable property, before a notary or in the presence of two witnesses, and send a copy to the person appointed to receive the rendering of accounts. Periodic rendering of accounts is required, at a frequency set in the mandate and not exceeding three years.
The mandatary to the person must be a physical person. The mandatary to property may be a physical or legal person, such as a trust company. Substitute mandataries are advisable: if there is none and the mandatary dies or becomes unable to act, tutorship proceedings commence.
The Curateur public
On homologation, the Curateur public receives a copy of the judgment, must inform the mandator and mandatary of the applicable rules, and maintains the register of homologated mandates in its public register of representation measures, under the Public Curator Act. It may intervene in homologation, receive and process reports about persons with a homologated mandate, use investigative powers to audit the mandatary's administration on suspected financial abuse or harm, and ask the court to relieve the mandatary or terminate the mandate and institute a tutorship. It cannot be appointed as mandatary, but it may be designated to receive the rendering of accounts, and it is guardian of last resort where no close relatives are available.
What the opened pages do not state
No homologation fee amounts are stated on the opened pages — only that fees exist and are paid from the mandator's patrimony. No time limit is stated for reassessing incapacity under a mandate; the booklet notes the law provides none, unlike tutorship's five-year maximum. No statement is made that the mandatary must sign the mandate at making. The exact Civil Code article numbers for the inventory and accounting duties are not stated, beyond the Code generally. The wordings of articles 2166, 2167 and 2174 were verified through Légis Québec search-result snippets, not by opening the Légis Québec article pages.
Related guides:
- How to Start Making a Power of Attorney in Canada — the national power-of-attorney guide, which covers Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta and states none of Quebec's civil-law rules.
- How to Apply for Probate in Quebec — Quebec's verification process for wills, which works differently from the other provinces.
- How to Become a Notary in Quebec — the notary route in Quebec, for readers who need a notarized mandate.
- How to Start Making a Power of Attorney in Manitoba — Manitoba's one-witness rule from a closed professional list, for comparison with Quebec's two-witness mandate.
- How to Start Making a Power of Attorney in New Brunswick — New Brunswick's lawyer-presence rule for property powers, for comparison.
- How to Order a Death Certificate in Canada — the death certificate the executor needs as proof of death.
Changing or cancelling a mandate while you are still capable
A protection mandate is not locked in when it is signed. As long as you are capable of doing so, you can change a protection mandate that no longer reflects your needs or wishes. You can also cancel it and make a new one. The Curateur public advises discussing the change with the mandatary, or with any new person you choose, and letting your loved ones know as well. Make the change while you are still capable: once incapacity is established and the mandate is homologated, this simple route of changing or cancelling the document yourself is no longer the process that applies.
Making a protection mandate in Quebec, in five steps
- Make the mandate while of sound mindAny adult of sound mind may make one; it may not be made jointly, and it covers both the person and property
- Choose the notarized form or the witnessed formA notarial act prepared by a notary, or a private writing signed before two disinterested witnesses who initial each page
- Name a mandatary and a person to receive the accountsThe mandatary carries out the mandate; the person who receives the rendering of accounts watches over them
- Wait for incapacity, then seek homologationThe mandate has no effect until it is homologated by the Superior Court after medical and psychosocial assessments
- Inventory the property within 60 daysAfter homologation the mandatary must inventory all property and render accounts at least every three years
Questions people ask
What is a protection mandate in Quebec?
The protection mandate, or mandat de protection, is Quebec's civil-law instrument for incapacity. It covers both the person, meaning housing, care and well-being, and property. It is not a common-law enduring power of attorney. A Quebec power of attorney for property alone, called a procuration, is a different instrument, and it generally ceases to be valid when the protection mandate takes effect.
How is a protection mandate made in Quebec?
Two forms only, under article 2166 of the Civil Code of Quebec. One is a notarized mandate, a notarial act en minute prepared by a notary. The other is a private writing, drawn up by a lawyer or by the mandator using the Curateur public's free form, and signed with two witnesses watching. Any adult of sound mind may make one. Two or more people cannot make one together: each person needs their own.
Who can witness a protection mandate in Quebec?
For the private-writing form, two witnesses watch the mandator sign, then both countersign while the mandator watches. Both must be adults of sound mind, have no interest in the act, and be able to judge the mandator's capacity. The mandator says what the act is but need not show its contents, and both witnesses initial each page. The principal or substitute mandatary, and the person who will receive the rendering of accounts, may not witness.
When does a protection mandate take effect?
Only after homologation, and that takes several months. First come two assessments, one medical and one psychosocial, confirming incapacity. Then the mandatary, or their lawyer or notary, applies to the Superior Court with the mandate, both assessments, and search certificates from the registers of mandates at the Chambre des notaires and the Barreau du Quebec. The judge, special clerk or notary interviews the mandator, unless serious health problems prevent it. A court judgment then declares the incapacity and homologates the mandate. Before that judgment, the mandatary cannot act at all.
What must the mandatary do after homologation?
Within 60 days of homologation the mandatary must inventory all moveable and immoveable property, before a notary or with two witnesses watching, and send a copy to the person appointed to receive the rendering of accounts. Periodic rendering of accounts is required, at a frequency set in the mandate and not exceeding three years. The costs of the process are paid from the mandator's patrimony.
What does the Curateur public do with protection mandates?
On homologation it receives a copy of the judgment, informs the mandator and mandatary of the applicable rules, and maintains the register of homologated mandates in its public register of representation measures. It may intervene in homologation, receive and process reports about persons with a homologated mandate, use investigative powers to audit the mandatary's administration on suspected financial abuse or harm, and ask the court to relieve the mandatary or terminate the mandate and institute a tutorship. It cannot be appointed as mandatary, but it may be designated to receive the rendering of accounts.
Sources
- Government of Quebec, Having a protection mandate homologated — the mandate has no effect until homologated, the medical and psychosocial assessments, the Superior Court application and its documents, the interview, the judgment, the several-months timing, and tutorship where homologation fails.
- Government of Quebec, Curateur public's role in protection mandates — the register of homologated mandates, informing the parties, intervention, reports, investigative powers, and asking the court to relieve the mandatary or institute a tutorship.
- Curateur public, My Protection Mandate — Booklet and Form (2022) — the two forms, the witness rules, the statement-under-oath recommendation, the 60-day inventory, the three-year accounting limit, the mandatary eligibility rules, and the procuration ceasing when the mandate takes effect.
- Curateur public, In case of incapacity: The protection mandate (March 2025) — the Curateur public as guardian of last resort, and registration of notarized mandates with the Chambre des notaires and lawyer-prepared mandates with the Barreau du Québec.