The housing crisis is pushing increasingly more people onto the streets. More than one in 10 Canadians report experiencing some form of homelessness in their lifetime..
Forced to camp out, homeless individuals are increasingly becoming victims. Not in my backyard (NIMBY) phenomenon. There are governments. Abolition of camps – There are others are willing to use the clause nonetheless to block court decisions. On their actions – ditto Banning supervised drug use sites near day care centers and schools.
Now unintended behavior is outwardly on their radar.
Increase in involuntary treatment
It is currently possible to forcefully treat someone anywhere in Canada. Provincial mental health legislation allows for involuntary admission and involuntary treatment..
Criteria vary from risk to lack of capability to consent and wish for treatment. But involuntary admission and treatment should only be used as a final resort.
Citizens have fundamental rights to choose what happens to them. According to the Supreme Court of Canada, the appropriate to self-determination trumps other interests.This includes what the doctor may think is in the patient's best interest.“A psychiatric diagnosis or substance addiction has no legal effect on the appropriate to consent to care.
No data is systematically collected in Canada. On involuntary admission and use of treatment. Available studies show that the usage of mental health laws to detain people has steadily increased for greater than a decade. In Quebec, Ontario And British Columbia.
This increase is similar to the situation in other western countries.it suggests. Coercion is now an integral part of mental health treatment.. Ethnic and indigenous peoples And people living in critical situations are overrepresented amongst those forced into treatment.
The Canadian Press/Darrell Dyke
Research reveals structural violations. Of The rights of those who are involuntarily admitted or treated.. Class motion lawsuits have been won or are ongoing in several Canadian provinces over the abuse of rights in psychiatric wards.
Quebec will have to pay compensation to people illegally detained..
The New Brunswick ombudsman concluded that patients at Restigooch Hospital Center in Campbellton “Victims of neglect, abuse and unacceptable treatment“
A British Columbia service was to be established. Rights Adviser The following Alarming consequences of its ombudsman in 2019. It reported a scientific failure by healthcare institutions to comply with procedural safeguards required by the Mental Health Act, including consent to treatment, and institutional procedures by the Ministry of Health. In properly monitoring compliance.
Yet the BC government has announced it's going to expand involuntary care. “Keep people and communities safe“
Baseless arguments
Arguments made by proponents of involuntary treatment usually are not supported by science.
first, They often state that homelessness is due to mental health issues or addiction.while research shows that Financial difficulties are the main cause of homelessness.. Rising housing and housing costs and low incomes are behind the unprecedented rise in homelessness.
The situation was predictable.
Economic inequality has been increasing since the 1980s.. Housing affordability has declined over the same period.. Homelessness is a structural problem, not a person problem.
The Canadian Press/Darren Calabrese
Second, proponents of involuntary treatment make the mental health/addiction connection. Public safetysuggesting that individuals with mental health problems or drug abusers usually tend to be violent.
Research has been done for a very long time. disproved this association in terms of mental health. And the situation Important for addiction.. However, proponents of involuntary treatment argue that it's needed to treat people against their will. Because they are unable to make decisions for themselves.. This hypothesis can be proven unsuitable by research. Which reveals a much more complex reality..
In addition, risk assessment and disability assessment tools are controversial and mainly target marginalized and ethnic people..
Attention also needs to be paid to the protection of the general public. Perpetuates prejudices and fears, which increase popular support for coercive measures such as unnecessary treatment.. About 70 percent of Ontario residents, for instance, Support legislative changes to facilitate involuntary treatment..
third, Some politicians say involuntary treatment works.. Not supported by current data A strong causal link between unnecessary treatment and treatment adherence, relapse prevention or social functioning. On the contrary they show. Adverse effects associated with coercion.
Wider access to community-based servicesthe Using experiential knowledge from relevant people And a A trauma-informed approach They seem promising and more respectful of human rights.
Change the language
Proponents of involuntary treatment, reminiscent of Patrick Brown, mayor of Brampton, Ont., claim “The old way isn't working.”
Because the term “involuntary treatment” has a negative connotation, They now speak of “compassionate care.””
This change in terminology Compatible with CARE. The program was implemented in California in 2022. Homeless individuals with certain psychiatric diagnoses could also be subjected to involuntary treatment through “a compassionate civil justice process.” CARE's empathic approach has been heralded as a paradigm shift.
But is it?
Making it easier to incarcerate the homeless and disadvantaged is, to say the least, not a brand new or original idea. fairly, This is a very old method Dating back to the Middle Ages.
Involuntary treatment is claimed to be needed because people don't enter therapy voluntarily. Yet access to mental health and addiction services across Canada remains difficult. Thanks to a long time of underfunding. It is difficult to justify violating people's rights by subjecting them to involuntary treatment when voluntary treatment isn't accessible.
Compassionate care is, in reality, nothing greater than a smoke screen intended to cover oppression, structural inequality and governments' lack of social responsibility.