Description

The Robert-Sauvé Award honours the exceptional contributions of two people who have worked on behalf of the less fortunate. One prize is awarded to someone working the legal aid network, the other to a member of the public-at-large. Candidates for the award must have devoted themselves to this cause for many years and carried out their work in Québec.

The award is named after the first chairman of legal aid in Québec, The Honourable Robert Sauvé, Chairman of the Commission des services juridiques from 1972 to 1977. Robert Sauvé was convinced that a legal aid system was essential to ensuring access to justice for all Québecers. The winners of the awards have the privilege of being associated with one of the most ardent defenders of the rights of the less fortunate.

The award was handed out for the first time in 1999, posthumously to the Honourable Robert Sauvé.

Network Award

General Public Award

Selection Committee

• a member of the Commission des services juridiques, other than the Chairman;
• a staff lawyer appointed by the Directors General;
• an external member chosen by the Commissioners. That person must be either a judge or someone publicly well-known and respected.

How do you submit a nomination?
Any person or organization who wishes to submit one or more nominees for consideration must send a complete file that includes:

• a nomination form;
• an introductory letter;
• two letters of support;
• a description of the career and exceptional acts of the nominee.

Nomination forms are also available at your regional community legal centre.

The Robert Sauvé Award will be presented in odd-numbered years. Due to the pandemic, the award will not be presented in 2021.

Complete nomination files must be sent  exceptionally before June 30^th to the following address:

Robert-Sauvé Award Committee
Commission des services juridiques
P.O. Box 123
Station Desjardins
Montreal, Québec, H5B 1B3

Information
M^e Richard La Charité
(514) 873-3562, extension 232
rlacharite@csj.qc.ca
or your regional community legal centre      

 

Documentation

Dépliant
(French only)
Selection Criteria and Process
(French only)
Candidacy Application Form
(French only)

2019
2017
2015
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
1999
All

Winners 2004

On November 11, 2004, the Commission des services juridiques conferred the 2004 Robert-Sauvé Award to Mrs. Ghislaine Beaulieu and Me Yves Lafontaine. Me Denis Roy, Chairman of the Commission des services juridiques, presented the Award.

The Robert-Sauvé Award honours the exceptional contribution of individuals to promoting the rights of the less fortunate. It is comprised of two components, the General Public Award and the Network Award.

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« General Public » category

Mrs. Ghislaine Beaulieu

Photo: Paul Ducharme In the photograph: Mrs. Ghislaine Beaulieu, recipient of the General Public Award of the Award, Me Denis Roy, Chairman of the Commission

Mrs. Ghislaine Beaulieu
The Award for the General Public Award was conferred on Mrs. Ghislaine Beaulieu, coordinator of the Association coopérative d’économie familiale (ACEF) de l'Estrie. Mrs. Beaulieu is in charge of matters involving the defence of rights, impoverishment, energy and taxation within this organization. Previously, she worked in the fields of cooperation, community work and consumption. In addition to her professional activities, Mrs. Beaulieu has been involved in the life of her community in a variety of ways. She sits on a number of boards of directors of community organizations and is currently chairperson of the board of directors of the Community Legal Centre of the Eastern Townships. Her work in the Eastern Townships was recently recognized when she was awarded the Mérite estrien in the spring of 2004. Mrs. Beaulieu's community involvement, devotion and availability to help others have been the hallmarks of her career. The Robert-Sauvé Award is therefore a fitting tribute to her work and commitment.

« Legal Aid Network » category

Me Yves Lafontaine

Me Yves Lafontaine
The Award for the Network Award was conferred on Me Yves Lafontaine who is currently a member of the Administrative Tribunal of Québec and was chairman of the Commission des services juridiques from 1977 to 1991. Me Lafontaine, who was admitted to the Québec Bar in 1963, worked as a lawyer in private practice for 10 years before being asked to establish the Community Legal Centre of the Eastern Townships in 1973. In 1975, he was appointed vice-chairman of the Commission des services juridiques and, in 1977, became its chairman until his departure in 1991, when he was appointed to the position of president of Québec's Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse. In February 1997, he was appointed vice-president of the Commission des affaires sociales and, in April 1999, he was appointed to sit on the Administrative Tribunal of Québec. While he was with the legal aid network, Me Lafontaine's leadership, perseverance and unfailing commitment to legal aid allowed the network to satisfy its mandate to the fullest extent and defend the less fortunate. During Me Lafontaine's term as chairman, his enlightened governance of the legal aid network had a significant social impact, fostering awareness within the courts of the social conditions of the network's clientele.