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Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he’s open to the idea of involuntary addiction treatment.
Ontario’s Big City Mayors group recently repeated a request to the province to review existing mental health laws with the idea of expanding involuntary treatment.
“I’d be open to it as long as we can help them and help the communities,” Ford said Thursday while announcing a cabinet shuffle that includes a new associate minister of mental health, Michelle Cooper.
The province is currently studying involuntary mental health and addiction treatment in jails, but so far has not proceeded with legislation of any kind.
Homelessness and addictions have spiked across the province since the COVID-19 pandemic and municipalities are facing the brunt of the costs.
“There has to be a point with some good consultation with the mayors,” Ford said.
“Do we force these people into treatment? We have a duty as a society to take care of these people and make sure they get the help that they need, but I want to have that discussion with the mayors right now because they’re very, very frustrated.”
Health minister has said she prefers voluntary treatment
While Health Minister Sylvia Jones has not ruled out the idea, she has said on several occasions she prefers voluntary treatment and is consulting with experts on the issue.
The mayors first asked the province two years ago to “urgently” review two laws, the Mental Health Act and the Health Care Consent Act, which allow for short periods of involuntary hospital admissions.
Now they are stepping up the pressure on the province.
In late August, the Big City Mayors asked the province again for help.
“The reality is the crisis continues to worsen, and more people than ever are struggling across our province,” the group wrote. “Lives are at stake and the time to act is now.”
