The right to care.

The power of choice.

BC’s Mental Health Act will be reviewed.

On April 30th, the BC government announced there will be a review of the Mental Health Act. BC’s current Mental Health Act is outdated and has not been modernized to reflect best practices in supporting the well-being and safety of everyone it impacts. A careful and well-informed review of the Act, and how it is being used, is an important opportunity to improve BC’s mental health and substance use system.

We have put together a framework for an effective and meaningful review of the Mental Health Act.

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.

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.

Our blog

Featured

Health Justice's Blog
Who is impacted by BC’s Mental Health Act?
Who is impacted by BC’s Mental Health Act?

Collecting and having access to transparent data when considering who experiences involuntary treatment is not only useful in seeing the impacts and any potentially harmful trends in order to be able to address them, but also it is an incredibly important tool in combatting common misconceptions about those who are involuntarily treated. An absence of information can contribute to leaving space for people to perpetuate harmful stereotypes and hold damaging ideas of those who are being involuntarily treated. It can also create space for those in power to play off of people’s fears that are based in misconceptions instead of reality, leading to decisions being made without consulting people with lived experience expertise who are impacted by those decisions.

Read More →
Choice over coercion: A call for voluntary care
Choice over coercion: A call for voluntary care

Despite what many may think due to the recent spotlight on the expansion of involuntary treatment in British Columbia, involuntary treatment for substance use already happens in B.C. Given these discussions about expanding involuntary treatment in B.C. and in other parts of Canada, it is crucial to examine the human rights violations within the existing involuntary treatment system, the lack of evidence to support its effectiveness and the potential harms and ethical concerns.

Read More →

Latest

Health Justice's Blog
Why does gender matter in mental health law and services?
Why does gender matter in mental health law and services?

Binary ideas of gender, sex and sexuality have resulted in inequity for cis and trans women and girls; Two-Spirit, trans, and non-binary people; and other gender-diverse people. The health system, and mental health system in particular, has a long history of pathologizing people who do not conform to the current norms, social roles, and behaviours expected in relation to gender, or erasing and ignoring their health needs and concerns.

Read More →

Follow our journey

Stay connected to learn what we’re up to and how you can support our work.

Given the long history of the mental health system pathologizing aspects of a person’s identity, and the trends we are seeing today, it is important that today’s mental health system take steps to ensure that this does not continue. Learn
The Mental Health Act in BC does not create any obligations on detaining facilities or facility staff to respect the gender identity and expression of people experiencing detention and involuntary treatment. This does not create an environment where
Collecting and having access to transparent data about who BC's Mental Health Act impacts is important. An absence of information can contribute to leaving space for people to perpetuate harmful stereotypes. It can also create space for those in powe
This content was originally published by @catieinfo Canada’s source for HIV and hepatitis C information. Of people detained and involuntarily treated under the B.C. Mental Health Act, 1 in 5 have a primary diagnosis of substance use disorder.