Latest news with #CouncilOfCanadiansWithDisabilities
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Charter challenge to B.C.'s Mental Health Act being heard in court
A Charter challenge to B.C.'s Mental Health Act, over a provision that groups say denies patients the ability to consent to treatment, is now being heard in B.C. Supreme Court nearly a decade after it was first filed. The challenge, filed by the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and other plaintiffs, was first made in 2016 over the act's "deemed consent" provision, which states that anyone with involuntary status under the law is presumed to have agreed to psychiatric treatment. The first hearing day was Thursday, and those involved say it's likely to continue for several weeks. Supporters of the challenge say that deemed consent removes safeguards that ensure a patient is being treated humanely, and violates the Charter's rights to life, liberty and security for everyone. They argue that B.C. having a deemed consent provision makes it unique among Canadian provinces and jurisdictions worldwide, and that it deprives patients of the right to control what is done to their own bodies — including, potentially, electroconvulsive treatment or the provision of medication. "It's time to modernize, and ensure that the legislation is brought into compliance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which I think all of us living in Canada now greatly respect and feel as a part of our Canadian culture," said Yvonne Peters, co-chair of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities' disability justice litigation initiative. A spokesperson for Health Minister Josie Osborne declined to comment on the case as it is before the courts. Loved ones should be involved: supporters The Charter challenge has drawn support from numerous groups, including the Canadian Mental Health Association's B.C. division (CMHA-BC). Jonny Morris, CEO of CMHA-BC, says removing the deemed consent provision would provide people with dignity and more control over their care. "We hope that there's a world in which the Mental Health Act is modernized so that deemed consent is replaced with evidence-based safeguards," he told CBC News. "So if the person wants their family members to be part of the decision making, if they can't make a decision, that those family members are included ... and that people have a say in their treatment if they have the capacity to be making decisions," he added. Morris said that, in addition to family members, he would like to see a patient's trusted neighbours, friends or other colleagues be incorporated into decision-making as part of the act's reform. Victoria resident Celeste Macevicius was committed to care under the Mental Health Act as a teenager, and has acted as a carer for people who have dealt with the mental health system. She says the legislation acts as a brick wall as soon as a decision is made to certify a patient to treatment, and family members aren't even informed when their loved one is discharged from care. "The degree to which people all of a sudden lose dignity and agency and autonomy and sense of self when they're put under the Mental Health Act is devastating," she said. "Even if somebody is a risk to themselves or a risk to somebody else, that shouldn't mean that then they'll be forced to comply with whatever a psychiatrist — who's known them for four hours — thinks they should comply with." Province reviewing act In the wake of a tragedy last month, in which a man on "extended leave" from his mental health team allegedly drove a car into attendees of the Lapu-Lapu Day festival in Vancouver, killing 11, B.C. Premier David Eby announced a review of the Mental Health Act. Eby said Osborne and her team will initiate a review of the act. Dr. Daniel Vigo, B.C.'s chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders, will be part of the review, the premier said. He did not provide a timeline for the review. Claire Rattée, the B.C. Conservative critic for mental health and addictions, said that the deemed consent provision in the Mental Health Act was not consistent with best practices, and that a collaborative approach to care was a better approach. She's arguing that, while the Mental Health Act is a good piece of legislation, the province is failing to support people with mental health and addictions challenges, including people with brain injuries from repeated drug overdoses. "I'm more concerned about the lack of services that are out there to support people with mental health and addiction struggles," she said. "And that's really where we're seeing these large failings, these large cracks that people are are falling through."
CBC
a day ago
- Health
- CBC
Charter challenge to B.C.'s Mental Health Act being heard in court
A Charter challenge to B.C.'s Mental Health Act, over a provision that groups say denies patients the ability to consent to treatment, is now being heard in B.C. Supreme Court nearly a decade after it was first filed. The challenge, filed by the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and other plaintiffs, was first made in 2016 over the act's "deemed consent" provision, which states that anyone with involuntary status under the law is presumed to have agreed to psychiatric treatment. The first hearing day was Thursday, and those involved say it's likely to continue for several weeks. Supporters of the challenge say that deemed consent removes safeguards that ensure a patient is being treated humanely, and violates the Charter's rights to life, liberty and security for everyone. They argue that B.C. having a deemed consent provision makes it unique among Canadian provinces and jurisdictions worldwide, and that it deprives patients of the right to control what is done to their own bodies — including, potentially, electroconvulsive treatment or the provision of medication. "It's time to modernize, and ensure that the legislation is brought into compliance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which I think all of us living in Canada now greatly respect and feel as a part of our Canadian culture," said Yvonne Peters, co-chair of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities' disability justice litigation initiative. A spokesperson for Health Minister Josie Osborne declined to comment on the case as it is before the courts. Loved ones should be involved: supporters The Charter challenge has drawn support from numerous groups, including the Canadian Mental Health Association's B.C. division (CMHA-BC). Jonny Morris, CEO of CMHA-BC, says removing the deemed consent provision would provide people with dignity and more control over their care. "We hope that there's a world in which the Mental Health Act is modernized so that deemed consent is replaced with evidence-based safeguards," he told CBC News. "So if the person wants their family members to be part of the decision making, if they can't make a decision, that those family members are included ... and that people have a say in their treatment if they have the capacity to be making decisions," he added. Morris said that, in addition to family members, he would like to see a patient's trusted neighbours, friends or other colleagues be incorporated into decision-making as part of the act's reform. Victoria resident Celeste Macevicius was committed to care under the Mental Health Act as a teenager, and has acted as a carer for people who have dealt with the mental health system. She says the legislation acts as a brick wall as soon as a decision is made to certify a patient to treatment, and family members aren't even informed when their loved one is discharged from care. "The degree to which people all of a sudden lose dignity and agency and autonomy and sense of self when they're put under the Mental Health Act is devastating," she said. "Even if somebody is a risk to themselves or a risk to somebody else, that shouldn't mean that then they'll be forced to comply with whatever a psychiatrist — who's known them for four hours — thinks they should comply with." Province reviewing act In the wake of a tragedy last month, in which a man on "extended leave" from his mental health team allegedly drove a car into attendees of the Lapu-Lapu Day festival in Vancouver, killing 11, B.C. Premier David Eby announced a review of the Mental Health Act. Eby said Osborne and her team will initiate a review of the act. Dr. Daniel Vigo, B.C.'s chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders, will be part of the review, the premier said. He did not provide a timeline for the review. Claire Rattée, the B.C. Conservative critic for mental health and addictions, said that the deemed consent provision in the Mental Health Act was not consistent with best practices, and that a collaborative approach to care was a better approach. She's arguing that, while the Mental Health Act is a good piece of legislation, the province is failing to support people with mental health and addictions challenges, including people with brain injuries from repeated drug overdoses. "I'm more concerned about the lack of services that are out there to support people with mental health and addiction struggles," she said. "And that's really where we're seeing these large failings, these large cracks that people are are falling through." WATCH | What two lawyers want to see in Mental Health Act review: What changes to B.C.'s mental health legislation could look like 23 days ago Duration 15:05 Premier David Eby has announced a review of the province's mental health legislation in light of the Lapu-Lapu Day festival tragedy. Two lawyers with extensive professional experience, Laura Johnston of Health Justice and Kevin Love with the Community Legal Assistance Society, joined us to share their experiences with the Mental Health Act and what changes they do and do not want to see.
Globe and Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Globe and Mail
B.C. Supreme Court judge hears opening arguments in constitutional challenge of provincial Mental Health Act
A B.C. Supreme Court judge deciding whether the province's Mental Health Act violates the Charter rights of people forced into treatment has heard opening arguments in a challenge that started in 2016. On Thursday, the lead lawyer for the plaintiff laid out the testimony Justice Lauren Blake is set to hear, including from a psychiatric patient who says they were tackled and injected with medication, and another who will tell court they walked into an emergency room, were given drugs and then woke up detained against their will. The case is being brought by the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, who say they are not seeking to throw out the ability of the province to detain people who need mental health care. Instead, they are seeking a ruling that the system of treatment patients receive once in custody – or out in the community on extended leave – is 'arbitrary, overbroad and grossly disproportionate.' Under B.C.'s Mental Health Act, people can be committed for treatment against their will if they meet all of several criteria, including that they are a risk to themselves or others, their mental disorder seriously impairs their ability to react appropriately to the environment, and that they require treatment in or through a designated facility. But politicians in B.C. and many other provinces are looking to force more people with addictions and mental illnesses into treatment against their will. Critics decry this practice as inhumane, based on unclear science and not as effective as funding better public health care for people who want treatment for their mental illness. B.C. to introduce involuntary care for people with concurrent addiction, mental disorders, premier says In B.C., the NDP government is creating highly secure units within jails and hospitals to provide more involuntary care for those with concurrent addictions, mental illness and acquired brain injuries. In the wake of the Lapu-Lapu Day attack in Vancouver last month, Premier David Eby pledged to 'modernize' the 30-year-old Mental Health Act, saying 'we need to be able to force people into care,' adding that 'the sensitivity around it has led us to delay doing this modernization of the act that everybody agrees needs to happen.' At the B.C. Supreme Court, Justice Blake is expected to hear from 13 patients or their family members and six experts called by the plaintiff, while lawyers for the provincial attorney-general are expected to call their own involuntary patients and a host of experts to support the current system. The proceedings will break for the summer, and closing remarks are expected in October. On Thursday, Patrick Williams, lead counsel for the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, told the court that under the Mental Health Act, involuntary patients are presumed to be incapable of giving, refusing or revoking consent to psychiatric treatment, whether or not they have the capacity to decide for themselves what is best. Plus, he added, they have no ability to review the treatment plan of their caregivers or appoint a substitute decision maker, like in other provinces. B.C.'s experiments in involuntary care face two crucial tests against the evidence and the electorate That means their Section 7 Charter right to a fair process while detained is violated, he argued. 'We say the provisions are procedurally unfair because they deny involuntary patients an ability to seek review of decisions,' said Mr. Williams, flanked by seven other lawyers for the plaintiff. Avichay Sharon, lead counsel for the province, said in his opening remarks that the lawsuit is based on a 'reductionist and overly simplistic conception of liberty simply as freedom from state interference.' Instead, he argued, the current system buttresses – not breaches – the Charter rights of patients because it allows them to stabilize and regain their health and freedom. 'It is not only permissible, but it is also the just and the right thing to do. It is the moral thing to do. In some cases, it may be the only thing to do – both for the patient's sake as well as others.' Mr. Sharon said he would call mental-health advocate and public speaker Bryn Ditmars, who has spoken publicly about how a series of seven involuntary hospitalizations eventually helped him overcome psychotic breaks, one of which was violent. The Mental Health Act allows a person diagnosed with a mental disorder who is unwilling to be treated to be detained first for 48 hours. Within that time frame, a second certificate is required to detain the patient for a month. The certificate can be renewed for another month, and then the renewals are good for three months followed by six months at a time.
