Law Times

PAGE 6 u EDITORIAL OBITER By Glenn Kauth Mental-health beds How long is too long? I the Criminal Code that allows for treatment orders for up to 60 days. "It is worth mentioning at this point that the principal function of a s. 672.58 order is not medical but legal, The appeal court, however, took a different approach to s. 672.58 of " she noted. COMMENT June 4, 2012 • Law Times f it's OK to have an accused wait six days for a mental-health bed, in Centre for Addiction and Mental Health v. Ontario. In that case, the appeal court was dealing with CAMH' as the Ontario Court of Appeal determined in a ruling on May 24, would even longer be fine as well? That' Justice Mary Hogan's order that the hospital or a designate accept the s one of the questions surfacing from the appeal court's ruling s challenge of Ontario Court accused, Brian Conception, for treatment forthwith. This was despite evidence that the facilities couldn't accommodate him for six days due to a lack of beds and the Crown' Conception would simply deprive someone else in similar circum- stances from getting treatment. After Conception received treatment, the charges against him were eventually stayed. To some extent, Hogan emphasized the overall need for better s insistence that forcing them to accept health care in issuing her order. "We have a mental health system here that is supposed to treat people and you know ordering treatment orders is one of the most serious things we can do in terms of the men- tal health system and yet we cannot seem to provide a bed for them to get treated in and that is totally unacceptable, behalf of a unanimous appeal court panel. "Treatment orders are made for the sole legal purpose of making an accused fit to stand trial on criminal charges. They are not intended " wrote Justice Robert Blair on to be therapeutic or for the medical benefit of the unfit accused in the broad sense. sending someone to jail against the difficulties of enforcing treatment at hospitals with no beds, the appeal court came to the fairly reasonable conclusion that a six-day wait wasn't necessarily a major problem from a legal perspective. "Here there was no evi- dence that a six-day delay in starting treatment might impair the likelihood of Mr. Conception' After considering the constitutional issues around " fit to stand trial within the 60-day statutory window s becoming provided in s. 672.59(2)," Blair wrote. But the ruling leaves the question as to what an acceptable wait for treatment might be. If six days are fine, what about a month? The appeal court hinted that it depends on the circumstances, but given the very real challenges around access to treatment Hogan referred to in issuing her order, it' places like the Old City Hall mental health court want more certainty. Hogan, then, has reminded us of a sig- nificant issue that the health system needs to address. — Glenn Kauth s clear that judges in towards some invisible foe. More than 500 Quebec lawyers and F Lawyers take on Quebec government with dignity The Hill rom a distance, it could have been a colony of giant black ants moving relentlessly down the street in full determination notaries put on their black gowns and marched last week in silent protest against the autocratic behaviour of the Quebec government through Bill 78. It was an unusual strength and determination. Very few carried signs and none show of legal had noisemakers. These were digni- fied, silent protesters, not noisy students banging on cooking pots. There were plenty of women lawyers in their resplendent gowns balancing themselves on elegant high-heeled shoes as the march turned down the cobble- stone streets of Old Montreal. The Quebec lawyers were marching against Bill 78, Premier Jean Charest's the students, the issue is rising tuition fees. For the lawyers, it' itself that's at issue as it sub- there's a cause involved. s the bill verts the rule of law and, as they say, "It is a dispropor- tionate restraint on freedom of expression, association, and peaceful protest." It turns judges into stoog- pots and pans with soup ladles won't accomplish for the stu- dents a sound legal defence may achieve in a court of law. The lawyers explained to What banging cooking es of the government and restricts protesters to what- ever protest the police and, by extension, the provincial government will allow by forcing them to obtain a permit for every protest of more than a handful of people and making all participants liable when only a few people turn violent. The lawyers see themselves as standing emergency legislation aimed at forcing striking university and college students back to school. The lawyers say the government must rescind the bill, but their reasons are quite different from the students' Law Times LT Masthead.indd 1 . For to fight the students' case in the courts, many of them on a pro bono basis. When a lawyer takes on a case pro bono, you know up against the law. They couldn't care less about the cost of university tuition fees that are already the lowest in the country. What bothers them is the Charest gov- ernment bringing in a despicable law just to break down the students. Dozens of lawyers have volunteered Richard Cleroux the public ahead of time that their march would be in silence and they' police advance notice and a precise route they' complaint against them? The lawyers timed the march to begin after the work day. Who wants to lose billable hours? Hundreds of bystanders stood in awe The lawyers marched after giving d take. Who wants a police remind us of the inherent dig- nity of our profession." d wear their gowns "to Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec, a Crown corporation. Moreau ranted outside the National Assembly: "Since he's a lawyer, not only is this a grave lack of judgment on his part but also a lack of loyalty and duty under the articles 10 and 11 of the Public Service Act, and I hope very sincerely that the individual in question will receive a sanction fitting the lack of judgment he has shown." Moreau wasn't through. He added: "I believe that taxpayers will agree that he lacked judgment and should be severely sanctioned. in the evening dusk watching the law- yers parade through the downtown and applauding as they passed. When was the last time you saw lawyers applauded by the public? Not everybody was happy with the sanction his boss promises. When organizing marches, he uses the name François Desroches but when he' Desroches may escape the severe " tising law at the office, he uses his full name, François Desroches-Lapointe. Moreau had better watch how he writes up the complaint against march. Quebec Transport Minister Pierre Moreau was furious when he heard that one of the organizers was François Desroches, a lawyer with the Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON • M1T 3V4 Tel: 416-298-5141 • Fax: 416-649-7870 • www.lawtimesnews.com Group Publisher ................... Karen Lorimer Editorial Director ................... Gail J. Cohen Editor .............................. Glenn Kauth Staff Writer ....................... Kendyl Sebesta Staff Writer ................... Michael McKiernan Copy Editor ..................... Katia Caporiccio CaseLaw Editor .................. Adela Rodriguez Art Director .......................Alicia Adamson Account Co-ordinator ............... Catherine Giles Electronic Production Specialist ........Derek Welford Advertising Sales ............... Kimberlee Pascoe Sales Co-ordinator ................... Sandy Shutt ©2012 Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or stored in a retrieval system without writ- ten permission. The opinions expressed in articles are not necessarily those of the pub- lisher. Information presented is compiled from sources believed to be accurate, however, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Law Times disclaims any war- ranty as to the accuracy, completeness or cur- rency of the contents of this publication and disclaims all liability in respect of the results of Law Times is printed on newsprint containing 25-30 per cent post- consumer recycled materials. Please recycle this newspaper. any action taken or not taken in reliance upon information in this publication. Publications Mail Agreement Number 40762529 • ISSN 0847-5083 Law Times is published 40 times a year by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd., 2075 Kennedy Rd., Toronto, ON, M1T 3V4 • 416-298-5141 clb.lteditor@thomsonreuters.com CIRCULATIONS & SUBSCRIPTIONS $175.00 + HST per year in Canada (HST Reg. #R121351134) and $265.00 for foreign addresses. Single copies are $4.00 Circulation www.lawtimesnews.com 2/7/12 3:32 PM young march organizer. He' s not a lawyer for nothing. s prac- the LT Richard Cleroux is a freelance reporter and columnist on Parliament Hill. 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