ICYMI: April Edition
We are a little later than usual on our monthly wrap-up but we were busy with Bill 23 news near the end of April/beginning of May. So first, we want to go into some news about that, including updates that have happened since our recent blog post on Bill 23.
Mental Health Act News: Bill 23 Updates
At the end of April, Bill 23 was introduced to create an independent rights advice service for people detained under the Mental Health Act. After the announcement, we posted about Bill 23 news across our social media and released our brief overview of the bill. Since that overview, here’s what has happened:
To become an Act, a bill needs to go through three readings and a committee process. Bill 23 went through second reading on May 4th, and the committee process and third reading were completed May 9th.
Bill 23 is now an Act, and we await Royal Assent and a regulation to bring it into force, which will make it the law in BC.
We are looking forward to learning more about the specifics of the independent rights advice service and Health Justice will be advocating for regulations that ensure the service is independent and accessible to everyone who needs it.
In Case You Missed It: What we did in April
Engagement Sessions: Centering lived and living experience
Health Justice has been actively working to ensure we’re listening to our community and to people with lived and living experiences of the issues we work on. A large part of what drives our work is our engagement with community, through the Lived Experience Experts Group, Indigenous Leadership Group, family members advisory, clinician advisory, and others.
Recently, we’ve also been continuing engagement sessions with diverse individuals from around BC to hear their experiences. We’re incredibly grateful for the people who have shared stories, and we will honour those stories with our commitments to reciprocity, ongoing dialogue, and active effort to transform the laws around coercive treatment in BC.
And if you didn’t get a chance to share your experience with us this time, don’t worry. We’ll be reaching out for other engagements soon!
Education Sessions: Transparent and equitable services for people with mental health issues, people with mental disabilities, and people who use substances.
This month we were at the Continuing Legal Education Society Elder Law Update 2022, where we presented on the use of the Mental Health Act and Adult Guardianship Act to detain seniors or make other involuntary interventions in their lives when there is a concern they are facing abuse, neglect, or self-neglect. We discussed the importance of transparent oversight of these significant steps and how seniors in this situation can access legal support and procedural fairness.
We also did a workshop for legal advocates at the Law Foundation of BC’s Legal Advocacy Training Course that promoted reflection and learning on how to make advocacy services as equitable and accessible as possible to people with mental health issues, people with mental disabilities, and people who use substances.
To keep up with what we’re up to, check out our socials below!
ICYMI: Other News
Parliamentary Committee on Reforming Policing in BC Has Published Its Report
The all-party parliamentary committee on reforming policing has published its report, which includes a recognition that "a broad review of the Mental Health Act is urgently required." Click here to see the report.
You can read Health Justice's full submissions to the committee here.
A Paid Prescription Fentanyl Program has Launched in Vancouver
A new program in Vancouver is offering legal access to prescription fentanyl to reduce the need to rely on the toxic illicit drug supply. The program is based on feedback from people with lived experience and a robust intake process where a nurse works with the individual to determine their needs. To learn more about the program click here.
“'A big crisis': How B.C.'s family doctor shortage is spreading”
Family doctors in BC are feeling the stress as less are entering the profession and more are leaving. Around “900,000 British Columbians don’t have a family doctor” according to a recent poll from the BC College of Family Physicians. As well, “40 per cent of patients who now have a family doctor said they are concerned their doctor will close their practice or retire in the future.” When considering solutions for the crisis, “many have called for an overhaul of the province’s fee-for-service model” with BC Family Doctors describing the current model as “outdated and inequitable.” To learn more about what is causing this and possible solutions, click here to read the article.
“From despair to hope: After COVID’s toll on mental health, more Canadians may soon be able to access care”
Prior to the pandemic, Canada was already facing a long-standing health crisis that the pandemic only added to, putting strain on a system that is already stretched thin. However, we are now seeing a shift in Canada’s mental health-care response from “Band-Aid fixes to an equitable, unified, national strategy” and Margaret Eaton, the CMHA’s chief executive, believes that it’s “finally the moment when the association’s long-standing goal of universal mental health care can be achieved.” To read the article, click here.