BC Supreme Court Rules Forced Psychiatric Treatment Unconstitutional

• The British Columbia Supreme Court has ruled that forced psychiatric treatment of involuntarily admitted patients is unconstitutional.
• The court has given the BC legislature six months to draft new laws that comply with its findings.
• The deemed consent regime, which allows healthcare professionals to force treatment on involuntarily admitted patients, has been declared unconstitutional.
• The ruling may set a precedent for similar challenges to involuntary treatment laws in other provinces.

In short, the provisions that make up BC's deemed consent regime 'operate to create a legislative scheme in which a director is automatically granted a blanket power to provide any psychiatric treatment they determine appropriate to any involuntary patient in any situation,' Blake wrote.

In a landmark decision, the British Columbia Supreme Court has declared that forced psychiatric treatment of involuntarily admitted patients is unconstitutional. The ruling, which was handed down last week, affects provisions in the Mental Health Act, Consent Act, and Representation Agreement Act. According to Justice Lauren Blake's nearly 350-page decision, the unconstitutional provisions are s. 8(a) of BC's Mental Health Act, ss.2(b) and (c) of the Consent Act, and ss. 11(1)(b) and (c) of the Representation Agreement Act. The court has given the BC legislature six months to draft new laws that comply with its findings.

The case, Council of Canadians with Disabilities v. British Columbia, was brought forward by human rights organization Council of Canadians with Disabilities in 2016. The plaintiff's goal was not to challenge BC's right to involuntarily admit and detain patients struggling with a mental disorder but rather to clarify the issue of whether specific provisions in the Mental Health Act, Consent Act, and Representation Agreement Act can empower healthcare professionals to force psychiatric treatment on involuntarily admitted patients. These provisions form what Justice Blake calls BC's 'deemed consent regime,' which automatically presumes that an involuntarily admitted patient is incapable of making decisions about their own treatment.

The ruling has significant implications for the treatment of involuntarily admitted patients in British Columbia. The deemed consent regime, which has been in place for years, effectively strips these patients of their right to make decisions about their own care and treatment. The court's decision may also set a precedent for similar challenges to involuntary treatment laws in other provinces. Lawyers and compliance officers should be aware of the potential changes to BC's Mental Health Act and the role that healthcare professionals will play in providing psychiatric care to involuntarily admitted patients.

Lawyers and compliance officers should watch for potential changes to BC's Mental Health Act, which may impact the treatment of involuntarily admitted patients and the role of healthcare professionals in providing psychiatric care. They should also be aware that this ruling may set a precedent for similar challenges to involuntary treatment laws in other provinces.

Source: Original reporting via Canadian Lawyer