The right to care.

The power of choice.

About Health Justice
Our work

The BC government announced it will review the Mental Health Act!

Click here to learn more about what this review needs!

The BC government announced it will review the Mental Health Act! Click here to learn more about what this review needs!

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Health Justice's Blog
Nurturing a holistic and transformative workplace
Nurturing a holistic and transformative workplace

Collective care for Health Justice is a foundational approach to how we work. Our aim is to centre the wellbeing of the organizational community including the team members and everyone involved in our organization, by shifting away from oppressive and colonial practices.

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Featured

Health Justice's Blog
Use of force to administer psychiatric treatment requires transparency and full debate at a minimum
Use of force to administer psychiatric treatment requires transparency and full debate at a minimum

On April 1 the BC government introduced a bill (Bill 16: 2026 Miscellaneous Statues Amendment Act) amending the Correction Act that, if passed, will have serious impacts. Bill 16 expands when provincial corrections officers are authorized to use physical force. It expressly authorizes corrections officers to use force to assist health care providers to administer involuntary treatment under the Mental Health Act.

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Reflecting experience through art: “Seclusion”
Reflecting experience through art: “Seclusion”

You go to the hospital for care yet, care turns into torture if you are put into a locked room where you have nothing; no stimulation, no light, and no connection to loved ones. When you're ill you need to feel cared for by other human beings. You need to feel connected. A caring system should prioritize connection and recognize the person as a whole human being deserving of respect, dignity and compassion. The current system does not do this.

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Our vision for BC

  • Every person can access dignified and effective health care that respects their human rights.

  • Self-determination is recognized as essential on the path to wellness and every person has access to the supports they need to exercise it.

  • Coercive health care is imposed as a last resort and everyone experiencing it has the services they need to ensure their voice is heard.

  • In order to understand the impact that the Mental Health Act has on people in BC, it is important to know what the Mental Health Act is. We've created a short resource with fast facts on the Mental Health Act which you can find here. We also have more resources regarding the Mental Health Act that can be found in our Resources tab at the top of the page.

  • The majority of our work focuses on the Mental Health Act and involuntary treatment in BC. We've broken up our work on this into several areas, each of which we are releasing a publication on, which you can see here.

    As well, we have done an arts-based project on policy change that those most impacted by the Mental Health Act would like to see called Illuminating Journeys, which can be found here.

  • Our work on adult abuse and neglect responses focuses on how laws, policies, and practices can ensure impacted adults get support that promotes their dignity and human rights.

Why does BC’s Mental Health Act need reform?

Guiding principles are needed to ensure BC's mental health law respects human rights
BC's mental health system needs to be decolonized
Denial of justice continues under BC's Mental Health Act
Revealing gender-based violence in BC's involuntary mental health system.

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