Jails can't be used as mental hospitals, Ottawa judge rules

Community Action, Nov 22, 2004

OTTAWA -- Jails can't be used as mental hospitals, Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Desmarais ruled on two detained men at the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Detention Centre while awaiting psychiatric assessment.

The judge found it unconstitutional when a person "is detained for a purpose other than that which is provided for in law" and the rights of the men were violated when they were incarcerated in the jail.

Ontario Public Service Employees Union President Leah Casselman, a correctional officer, congratulated Justice Demerais and said. "For years, we have been telling successive governments that the mentally ill do not belong in jail. The elimination of forensic psychiatric beds across the province has resulted in those with mental health issues being warehoused in jail."

Tony Morabito, chair of OPSEU'S Mental Health Division, also endorses the ruling. "As a mental health provider, I know that the mentally ill cannot receive appropriate care while sitting in a jail cell."