Do I have to pay my witness in small claims?
Short answer
In Quebec, a person called as a witness before the Small Claims Division generally testifies without being paid, unless the court decides otherwise. The judge may grant an indemnity if one is requested.
In detail
The mechanics are as follows: after the testimony, the clerk attests to the witness’s presence and determines the amount owed by the party who summoned them. The witness must present the clerk with their summons to appear and the documents establishing the indemnity and allowances they are entitled to.
There is a flip side. If the judge considers that a witness was summoned and travelled needlessly, the party who called them can be ordered to pay the costs attached to that. Summoning someone as a precaution is therefore not risk-free.
That argues for summoning only the people whose testimony bears on a fact that is both contested and useful — and for considering a written statement where the fact is not really in dispute.
What to document
For each witness summoned: the specific fact they are there to establish and why that fact is contested. Also keep the receipts for their expenses (travel, lost wages) if they claim any.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
Official sources
- Testifying in small claims — Gouvernement du Québec
- Preparing for the hearing and summoning witnesses — Gouvernement du Québec
Related questions
- I can't be there on the day of the hearing what do I do?
- Can you get a judgment without a hearing?
- How long after the hearing will I get the judgment?
- Can I appeal a small claims judgment?
- I got a default judgment can I have it cancelled?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.