Ethics is an aspect of research that is increasingly present in the social sciences and humanities, as well as in arts and letters. Ethics is continually evolving as new research issues are included in the scientific community's agenda. In the interest of supporting and promoting research excellence, the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture (FRQSC) requires research actors benefitting from FRQSC funding to aim for the highest standards, in particular when it comes to research ethics, and to comply with provincially-recognized norms and guidelines.

Accordingly, research actors in these fields can refer to the research ethics norms formulated by the FRQ and the norms established in the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS-2). These are primarily concerned with the behaviour of research actors from a professional conduct perspective, in particular with regards to the respect and protection of human participants in health research. In addition, health and social services institutions—such as health and social services centres (CSSS)—in which research activities are conducted are specifically required to comply with the standards laid down by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) in its research ethics and scientific integrity action plan Plan d'action ministériel en éthique de la recherche et en intégrité scientifique (1998).

Ethics Review

Human Participants

All research projects involving human participants require the approval of a Research Ethics Board (REB). This REB must be appointed by the Board of Directors of the principal applicant's institution or be an REB recognized by this institution. Research projects involving minors or adults incapable of giving consent must be reviewed pursuant to Section 21 of the Civil  Code of Québec, by a REB instituted or designated by the MSSS or by the central ethics committee (Comité central d'éthique de la recherche) of the MSSS.

Laboratory Animals and the Environment

All research project involving animals require the approval of the Animal Care Committee of the principal applicant's institution, which must comply with the standards and guidelines of the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC). When applicable, researchers must also report any environmental impacts of their research and employ the necessary efforts to minimize them. Projects must comply with environmental standards and regulations, including biosafety rules, and principal investigators must obtain any licences required for specific types of activities.