Rights and safety at work

Automated external defibrillator (AED): what the law says in Quebec

Who may use an AED, where it is mandatory, who keeps the registry: the legal framework in Quebec, text by text, as of October 10, 2026.

October 10, 2026 · Lire en français

Rights and safety at work

In Quebec, no law specific to the automated external defibrillator (AED) is in force as of October 10, 2026. The framework rests on three texts: a regulation that allows anyone to use the device, the Civil Code that protects the person who comes to someone's aid and the Charter of human rights and freedoms. This text explains that framework to the paramedic (primary care paramedic), the first responder and the public. It contains no medical advice and no legal advice. In an emergency, dial 911.

A law announced, not yet passed

The Government of Quebec announced a law as early as June 13, 2022. Its news release on the defibrillator deployment strategy calls the adoption of a specific law on public access to defibrillation across the territory essential. This law would cover the places that should have an AED, the role and responsibilities of these places and the registration of devices in the national registry.

The Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS), Quebec's health ministry, repeated it in 2024. Its Orientations ministérielles pour l'élaboration du Plan quinquennal d'organisation des services préhospitaliers d'urgence 2025-2030 state that "a specific law on public access to defibrillation across the territory will govern the implementation mechanisms".

This law does not exist yet. The lists of bills of the 43rd legislature published by the National Assembly, consulted on October 10, 2026, contain no title on defibrillators. The Act respecting pre-hospital emergency services (chapter S-6.2), up to date as of August 12, 2026 on LégisQuébec, does not contain the word defibrillator. So there is no chapter, no assent date and no implementing regulation to cite.

Who may use an AED under the law

The answer is in the Règlement sur les activités professionnelles pouvant être exercées dans le cadre des services et soins préhospitaliers d'urgence (chapter M-9, r. 2.1), up to date as of June 1, 2026. This regulation is made under the Medical Act and the Professional Code.

Person	What the regulation says	Section
Any person	May use an automated external defibrillator during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, in the absence of a first responder or a paramedic	2
First responder	May use the automated external defibrillator during cardiopulmonary resuscitation	7
Paramedic	May also use the semi-automatic monitor defibrillator	Division III
Advanced care paramedic	May also perform manual defibrillation	12

Section 2 requires no certificate and no training. Section 1.1 specifies that the activities of first responders and paramedics are carried out according to the clinical intervention protocols approved by the Minister of Health and Social Services.

Protection of the person who comes to someone's aid

Article 1471 of the Civil Code of Québec, up to date as of August 12, 2026, reads: "Where a person comes to the assistance of another person or, for an unselfish motive, gratuitously disposes of property for the benefit of another person, he is exempt from all liability for injury that may result from it, unless the injury is due to his intentional or gross fault."

Section 2 of the Charter of human rights and freedoms (chapter C-12) sets out the duty to come to someone's aid. Every person must come to the aid of anyone whose life is in peril, either personally or by calling for aid, unless it involves danger to themselves or a third person, or they have another valid reason. Urgences-santé (the ambulance service for Montreal and Laval) cites these three texts together on its page Programme d'accès à la défibrillation.

The AED registry

The national registry is called DEA-Québec. According to the June 13, 2022 news release, the Fondation Jacques-de Champlain developed it in partnership with the government, and the ministry helps fund its provincial deployment and updating. The registry uses geolocation to show the registered devices in public places.

The number of registered devices grows from one news release to the next.

5,121 AEDs as of June 13, 2022
About 6,500 AEDs as of October 16, 2023
More than 9,000 AEDs as of June 5, 2025, after an 85% increase

No text in force requires a device to be registered. The official sources consulted do not describe the procedure: it is up to the Fondation that maintains the registry. In Montreal and Laval, Urgences-santé writes that it would like facilities with an AED to register with its health communication centre.

The link with the health communication centre and first responders

The health communication centre receives medical calls from 911. Urgences-santé explains what registration is for: the information is provided to emergency medical dispatchers when a call comes from the registered building, and they can indicate where the AED is.

This link is not yet in place everywhere. The 2024 ministerial orientations give institutions two actions: promote the installation and registration of AEDs in their territory, and connect health communication centres to the DEA Québec registry.

The first responder, for their part, acts only when assigned by the health communication centre, under section 39 of the Act respecting pre-hospital emergency services. Also read: the role of the first responder and the job of 911 dispatcher.

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Frequently asked questions

Who can use an automated external defibrillator (AED)?

Anyone. Section 2 of the regulation (chapter M-9, r. 2.1) says so: in the absence of a first responder or a paramedic, any person may use an automated external defibrillator during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The regulation requires no prior training.

What are businesses' obligations regarding automated external defibrillators (AEDs)?

No text in force requires a Quebec business to have an AED. The Règlement sur les normes minimales de premiers secours et de premiers soins (chapter A-3.001, r. 10), up to date as of June 1, 2026, does not contain the word defibrillator. It requires the employer to have at least one first aider at all times during working hours for 50 workers or fewer, one more first aider for each additional hundred or fraction of a hundred, and kits that comply with the CSA Z1220 standard. The CNESST (Quebec's labour standards and workplace safety board) publishes an information document on workplace defibrillation, dated April 25, 2018, for employers who choose to equip themselves.

Where is a defibrillator mandatory?

Nowhere by effect of a general law: no obligation of this kind is in force in Quebec as of October 10, 2026. The law announced in 2022 was to designate the places covered, and it has not been passed. In public schools, the presence of an AED comes from a funding measure announced on June 4, 2024, more than $3 million for 1,558 devices, and not from a law.

Is it mandatory to have a defibrillator at work in Quebec?

No. The regulation that sets workplace first aid requirements (chapter A-3.001, r. 10), up to date as of June 1, 2026, does not name the defibrillator. It requires first aiders, kits and a system for communicating with first aid services. Our article on the workplace first aider details these requirements.

Is it mandatory to have a defibrillator in a business?

No, and no bill provides for it for now. The lists of bills of the 43rd legislature of the National Assembly, consulted on October 10, 2026, contain no title on defibrillators. Yet the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux writes, in its 2024 orientations, that "a specific law on public access to defibrillation across the territory will govern the implementation mechanisms". This text is not legal advice.

What does DEA mean in the context of defibrillators?

DEA stands for défibrillateur externe automatisé, the French term for automated external defibrillator (AED). These are the words of the regulation (chapter M-9, r. 2.1) and of the Government of Quebec news releases, which write "défibrillateurs externes automatisés (DEA)". The acronym DAE, for défibrillateur automatisé externe, puts the same words in a different order. The national registry is named DEA-Québec.

How do you find a defibrillator (AED)?

Through the national DEA-Québec registry and the app of the same name. According to the government news releases of June 13, 2022 and October 16, 2023, the registry uses geolocation to show the nearest registered devices in public places, and the mobile app is used to find those nearby. In Montreal and Laval, Urgences-santé writes that its emergency medical dispatchers can indicate where the AED is when a call comes from a building registered with its health communication centre. In an emergency, dial 911.