When: August 10th, 11 am to 4:45 pm
Where: Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Toronto, Ontario
Toronto – In recognition of International Prisoners’ Justice Day, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) and the John Howard Society of Toronto will host several leading legal activists for a day of discussion about mental health in the Canadian justice system.
International Prisoners’ Justice Day is an annual opportunity to consider how we treat people behind bars, and to remember the goals of incarceration. It is also a chance for us to ask many questions about our prison system as a whole, including how well it deals with mental illness.
“When placed ‘behind bars’ a person is immediately placed into a situation of powerlessness and dependency, and therefore exposed to possible cruel treatment. While the deprivation of liberty may be legal, the deprivation of human dignity is not,” said Sukanya Pillay, Executive Director and General Counsel of CCLA.
Speakers will include Sukanya Pillay; Allison Thornton, CCLA’s legal representative at the Ashley Smith inquest; Ryan Fritsch, human rights and health lawyer leading development of LAO’s Mental Health Strategy; Insiya Essajee, legal counsel for the Ontario Human Rights Commission in the Christina Jahn Human Rights Tribunal complaint against the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services; Kerri Joffe, staff lawyer at ARCH Disability Law Centre; Jacqueline Tasca, Policy Analyst for John Howard Society of Ontario’s Centre of Research, Policy and Program Development; and Mercedes Perez, a lawyer at Swadron and Associates specializing in mental health advocacy.
The day’s proceedings will also include a screening of NCR: Not Criminally Responsible, a documentary on crimes relating to mental illness, and the balance between public safety, victim rights, and the rights of people with mental illnesses who have committed serious crimes. The screening will be followed by a Q & A with Fritsch and Perez.
This event is free, and open to the public. For more information contact Peter Goffin, Communications Fellow, media@ccla.org, 416 363 0321 ext. 225.
