Restore Basic Rights to Vulnerable British Columbians Detained Under the Mental Health Act
The Issue
Imagine experiencing a mental health crisis and being detained against your will in a psychiatric facility. Now imagine that, in this vulnerable state, you find yourself without timely access to legal counsel to help you understand your rights and apply for a review of your case.
Unfortunately, too many British Columbians have found themselves in this exact situation.[1]
Under BC’s Mental Health Act, designated psychiatric facilities have the right to detain patients involuntarily if:
· the person has a mental disorder that requires psychiatric treatment and that significantly limits the person’s ability to respond appropriately to their environment or interact with others
· the person requires treatment through a designated psychiatric facility
· the person requires care in this facility to prevent substantial mental or physical deterioration or to protect themselves or others from harm
AND
· the person cannot be admitted voluntarily.[2]
Importantly, involuntarily detained patients have the right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to:
· be promptly informed of the reasons for their detention
· retain legal counsel without delay
AND
· have the validity of their detention evaluated in a court of law.[3]
Detained patients also have the right under BC’s Mental Health Act to:
· apply to the BC Supreme Court to review the justification for detention
· apply for a review panel of the Mental Health Review Board
AND
· seek a second opinion on psychiatric treatment.[4]
But a 2019 report by BC’s ombudsperson, Jay Chalke, found that in practice, many British Columbians detained involuntarily by a psychiatric facility are not being notified of their basic rights.[5] What’s more, as the Community Legal Assistance Society has emphasized, involuntarily detained psychiatric patients in BC currently have no low-barrier access to legal services – in contrast to most other jurisdictions in Canada, and despite the fact that another BC Ombudsperson report 25 years earlier articulated concerns about insufficient rights protections for detained psychiatric patients.[6,7] More recently, in 2016, the BC Ministry of Justice promised to review how legal services are provided to psychiatric patients,[8] but four years later these vulnerable patients remain without low-barrier access to legal support.
As UBC student nurses currently working in a designated psychiatric facility, we are dedicated to upholding the rights of all our patients and returning to them a sense of dignity and control at the time when they need it most. Following the recommendations of the BC Ombudsperson, the Community Legal Assistance Society, and the advocacy organization Health Justice, we are calling on the BC Government; the Premier of BC, John Horgan; the BC Health Minister, Adrian Dix; and the BC Attorney General, David Eby, to create a government-funded, independent legal advice service, staffed by trained legal professionals, for psychiatric patients involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act.
The BC Ministry of Justice has promised for years to reduce barriers to legal representation and to address repeated failures to uphold the basic rights of involuntarily detained psychiatric patients. Join us in demanding immediate action in the form of a low-barrier legal advice service for psychiatric patients in BC. Sign the petition now!
Endnotes:
[1] https://www.vicnews.com/news/patient-wants-b-c-to-protect-legal-rights-of-mentally-ill-like-most-provinces/?fbclid=IwAR19ciZt0qghrVqGbS7sKrpDXSY8ARrxEaCAITCSNTpzM-gYpoMYRrYPm0A
[2] https://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/00_96288_01section22
[3] https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html
[4] https://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/00_96288_01
[5] https://www.bcmhrb.ca/app/uploads/sites/431/2019/03/OMB-Committed-to-Change-FINAL-web.pdf
[6] https://clasbc.net/our-work/law-reform/mental-health-law-reform/
[7] https://bcombudsperson.ca/assets/media/Public-Report-No-33-Listening-A-review-of-Riverview-Hospital.pdf
[8] https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/woman-held-under-mental-health-act-launches-court-challenge-for-legal-aid-lawyer
The Issue
Imagine experiencing a mental health crisis and being detained against your will in a psychiatric facility. Now imagine that, in this vulnerable state, you find yourself without timely access to legal counsel to help you understand your rights and apply for a review of your case.
Unfortunately, too many British Columbians have found themselves in this exact situation.[1]
Under BC’s Mental Health Act, designated psychiatric facilities have the right to detain patients involuntarily if:
· the person has a mental disorder that requires psychiatric treatment and that significantly limits the person’s ability to respond appropriately to their environment or interact with others
· the person requires treatment through a designated psychiatric facility
· the person requires care in this facility to prevent substantial mental or physical deterioration or to protect themselves or others from harm
AND
· the person cannot be admitted voluntarily.[2]
Importantly, involuntarily detained patients have the right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to:
· be promptly informed of the reasons for their detention
· retain legal counsel without delay
AND
· have the validity of their detention evaluated in a court of law.[3]
Detained patients also have the right under BC’s Mental Health Act to:
· apply to the BC Supreme Court to review the justification for detention
· apply for a review panel of the Mental Health Review Board
AND
· seek a second opinion on psychiatric treatment.[4]
But a 2019 report by BC’s ombudsperson, Jay Chalke, found that in practice, many British Columbians detained involuntarily by a psychiatric facility are not being notified of their basic rights.[5] What’s more, as the Community Legal Assistance Society has emphasized, involuntarily detained psychiatric patients in BC currently have no low-barrier access to legal services – in contrast to most other jurisdictions in Canada, and despite the fact that another BC Ombudsperson report 25 years earlier articulated concerns about insufficient rights protections for detained psychiatric patients.[6,7] More recently, in 2016, the BC Ministry of Justice promised to review how legal services are provided to psychiatric patients,[8] but four years later these vulnerable patients remain without low-barrier access to legal support.
As UBC student nurses currently working in a designated psychiatric facility, we are dedicated to upholding the rights of all our patients and returning to them a sense of dignity and control at the time when they need it most. Following the recommendations of the BC Ombudsperson, the Community Legal Assistance Society, and the advocacy organization Health Justice, we are calling on the BC Government; the Premier of BC, John Horgan; the BC Health Minister, Adrian Dix; and the BC Attorney General, David Eby, to create a government-funded, independent legal advice service, staffed by trained legal professionals, for psychiatric patients involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act.
The BC Ministry of Justice has promised for years to reduce barriers to legal representation and to address repeated failures to uphold the basic rights of involuntarily detained psychiatric patients. Join us in demanding immediate action in the form of a low-barrier legal advice service for psychiatric patients in BC. Sign the petition now!
Endnotes:
[1] https://www.vicnews.com/news/patient-wants-b-c-to-protect-legal-rights-of-mentally-ill-like-most-provinces/?fbclid=IwAR19ciZt0qghrVqGbS7sKrpDXSY8ARrxEaCAITCSNTpzM-gYpoMYRrYPm0A
[2] https://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/00_96288_01section22
[3] https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-15.html
[4] https://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/00_96288_01
[5] https://www.bcmhrb.ca/app/uploads/sites/431/2019/03/OMB-Committed-to-Change-FINAL-web.pdf
[6] https://clasbc.net/our-work/law-reform/mental-health-law-reform/
[7] https://bcombudsperson.ca/assets/media/Public-Report-No-33-Listening-A-review-of-Riverview-Hospital.pdf
[8] https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/woman-held-under-mental-health-act-launches-court-challenge-for-legal-aid-lawyer
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Petition created on November 8, 2020