Law and Mental Health in Canada: Cases and Materials addresses important aspects of both individual and systemic advocacy on behalf of individuals with serious mental health issues. It surveys the field in all respects, addressing civil mental health legislation across Canada; the mental disorder provisions in the Criminal Code; other areas of criminal law where mental health is an issue; the representation of Indigenous clients with psychiatric histories; and Coroner’s Inquests into the deaths of persons in crisis at the hands of police and in institutional settings.
The book includes a special chapter on representing persons with serious mental health issues, as counsel or court-appointed amicus curiae, in all manner of legal proceedings. An anti-racist, anti-colonial and intersectional approach is also employed throughout. Trauma-informed and empathic representation is emphasized. This book also compiles every leading case and references to commentary that inform debate and thoughtful exploration of the key issues in this area of law. It offers an overview of the broad range of legal issues that arise in the real-life practice of mental health law.
Law and Mental Health in Canada: Cases and Materials is the product of a special team of Canadian authors with wide-ranging backgrounds from across the nation. The experience seasoned practitioners of mental health law bring to the knowledge and teaching expertise of the academics in the author group, together with the lived experiences of those who contributed content, all serve to enrich the book. It includes the insights of both lawyers and non-lawyer advocates to maximize the wealth of litigation and lived experience.
Author(s): Anita Szigeti, Ruby Dhand
Publisher: LexisNexis Canada
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 612
City: Toronto
Chapter 1 – Foundational Issues in Mental Health Law: Lived Experience, Access to Justice and Intersectionality
Chapter 2 – Civil Mental Health Law: Legal Concepts and Policy Considerations
Chapter 3 – Civil Commitment
Chapter 4 – Consent to Treatment
Chapter 5 – Guardianship and Powers of Attorney
Chapter 6 – Personal Health Information Protection
Chapter 7 – Mental Disorder and Criminal Justice
Chapter 8 – Fitness to Stand Trial
Chapter 9 – The Not Criminally Responsible Verdict
Chapter 10 – Criminal Code Review Boards – Part XX.1, the Mental Disorder Provisions: History, Structure and Foundational Concepts
Chapter 11 – Modern Review Board Law: s. 672.54 of the Criminal Code and Beyond
Chapter 12 – Dangerous Offender and Long-Term Offender Proceedings
Chapter 13 – Mental Health Considerations in Bail and Sentencing
Chapter 14 – Mental Health Courts and Specialized Courts
Chapter 15 – Indigenous Peoples and Mental Health Law
Chapter 16 – Introduction to Coroner’s Inquests in Ontario Involving Mental Health Issues
Chapter 17 – Public Interest Standing by People With Lived Experience of Mental Health Issues at Ontario Coroner’s Inquests – Part I: Recommendations From Inquests in Police-involved Deaths
Chapter 18 – Public Interest Standing by People With Lived Experience of Mental Health Issues at Ontario Coroner’s Inquests – Part II: Recommendations From Inquests in Institutional Deaths
Chapter 19 – Practicing Mental Health Law: Advocacy Tools, Trauma-Informed Lawyering, Empathy and Increasing Access to Justice
