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The Quebec government has tabled a piece of legislation that would make it easier to forcibly detain people whose mental health could make them a danger to themselves or others.
If adopted, the bill, which was tabled on Tuesday, would change the criteria required to confine a person experiencing a mental health crisis.
Currently, Quebec law stipulates that people can be involuntarily confined if they present a “grave and immediate” danger to themselves or others.
The new bill, if passed, would broaden that criteria. Doctors and other health-care professionals, including nurse practitioners, would be able to confine any person who is in a “situation where there is a danger” to themselves or others.
Previously, only physicians were explicitly given the power to confine people and order psychiatric assessments.
Quebec Health Minister Sonia Bélanger said at a news conference that the new law “strikes a balance between the protection of these people and others, and the respect of fundamental rights.”
“The first change we’re making,” Belanger said, “is giving intervenors the possibility to act earlier, before the situation becomes irreparable.”
The changes to the law come in the wake of two high-profile killings — the stabbing death of Maureen Breau, a police officer killed in 2023, and the death of Chong Woo Kim, a dépanneur owner killed this month.
In both cases, concerns had been raised about the alleged killers in the weeks and months prior to the killings.
The new bill would make it easier to forcibly detain someone in situations where they’re considered to be a danger to themselves or others. It’s sparking debate among experts over civil liberties and how best to improve mental health care.
‘When the danger is so severe, it’s already too late’
In a statement, the union that represents Quebec provincial police officers lauded the new bill. Dominic Roberge, the president of the union, known as the APPQ, said the Quebec law will be similar to legislation in Ontario known as Brian’s law.
“The Ontario model, Brian’s law, shows that it is possible to relax the criteria to allow for faster and more effective intervention within a framework that works in Canada,” he said, adding reform of Quebec’s law “has been long overdue.”
Amal Abdel-Baki, a psychiatrist and clinical researcher who studies how to improve care in psychiatry, said the vast majority of people with mental health disorders pose no danger to themselves or others.
But the problem, she said, is when they don’t get access to treatment on time — then, they can be at risk of harming themselves or others.
She said the new bill is a welcome tool, because the law as it is currently written only allows confinement in extreme cases.
“When the danger is so severe, it’s already too late,” she said.
“We would like this law to be a law that gives care to people … and also we need to have the resources to offer that care to them quickly so we can avoid having to restrain people’s freedom.”
Concerns of increased distrust
For one advocacy group, this bill’s effort to “modernize” is actually a step back in time. François Winter is a spokesperson for AGIDD-SMQ, which helps people with mental illness navigate legal and social issues.
“We have a social crisis now,” said Winter, citing the struggle to access mental health care and the growing number of people experiencing homelessness. “We’re disappointed, to be honest.”
There are concerns that patients will distrust mental health providers for fear they will be involuntarily confined, he said. He said already people who have been hospitalized have bad experiences in confinement that they don’t want to relive.
Knowing psychiatrists have increased powers to hospitalize them, patients’ distrust will only increase, he said.
“In the end, if you create a social fracture, you will not solve a problem,” Winter said. “You will create more.”
