EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is an open letter to the Mayor and Council of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI) and has been reprinted here at the author’s request.
Re: Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities – FONOM
Changes to the Mental Health Act
‘Ontario Homes for Lost Souls’
A recent NEMI council agenda provided a plan from FONOM to allow for temporary detention of individuals found intoxicated by drugs or other substances without charge for their safety and that of the community. These homes would be staffed with psychiatrists and mental health specialists.
The proposed changes would allow for mandatory holds of detained individuals, with a graduated system of longer incarceration for each incident.
Who will determine who is ‘intoxicated’ and what right of appeal will an individual have under such changes?
There is already a shortage of mental health practitioners in Ontario. Where will additional professionals be sourced from, and at what cost?
Mechanisms are already in place to deal with individuals who may need immediate help in the health care system. Such a plan as proposed here by FONOM could easily become a slippery slope for unethical detention of citizens.
I can agree with the following statements by FONOM: “Member municipalities are concerned about what is happening in their communities. They see all the funding being provided for mental health and homelessness, and the situation is getting worse. A fast-growing percentage of the population is losing faith in governments (all three levels), institutions, health care, and law enforcement.”
The government of Ontario has suggested other solutions for the mental health and addiction crises we are facing. So far, they do not appear to be in favour of such a program, but FONOM will likely lobby for this to move forward. It is likely only a matter of time before municipalities will be asked to pass motions of support for this idea, lobbying the provincial government to change the Mental Health Act.
Please do not support FONOM’s idea of Ontario Homes for Lost Souls.
Other solutions must be sought.
Sincerely,
Zak Nicholls
Little Current
