Findings of Dr. Paul Dionne support NUPGE submission to the Mental Health Commission of Canada
Ottawa (4 June 2008) - A report from the Montreal coroner's office once again highlights the growing crisis of Canadians with mental illnesses being committed to correctional facilities.
The findings of Dr. Paul Dionne lend support to a submission by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) to the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
The coroner's report follows the Nov. 28, 2007, death of a mentally ill young man sent to the health care unit of the Rivières-des-Prairies detention centre following his arrest five days earlier. The 25-year-old man died the following day of a heart attack.
Dionne points to a growing crisis in the incarceration of individuals with mental illnesses as a contributing factor in the case. He also notes that the incident is not an isolated one. The Québec ministries of health and public security were also criticized for transferring psychiatric patients to correctional facilities.
In an interview with Radio-Canada, Dionne said correctional officers "are not qualified" to hold psychiatric patients. "They don't have the training. They don't have the support. They don't have all the necessary organization," he added.
The use of correctional facilities in housing individuals with mental illnesses was a key point emphasized by NUPGE in its recent submission to the Mental Health Commission of Canada. The 14-page brief recommended broad changes in four key areas - the national public health care system, health human resources, community-based social services as well as the criminal justice system.
"A lack of institutional and community-based support and services has meant that many people dealing with mental illnesses fall through the cracks and end up in the criminal justice system," the submission said.
"Our members who work in provincial correctional facilities report that the population of new inmates with significant, identified mental health needs is surging at a serious rate. Our governments must act swiftly to ensure these Canadians get the treatment and support they need rather than being placed in correctional facilities." NUPGE
More information:
NUPGE submission: No Health Without Mental Health - pdf
NUPGE submission to Mental Health Commission of Canada
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