The Mental Health Strategy marks the beginning of Legal Aid Ontario’s long-term commitment to prioritizing, expanding and sustaining mental health rights and advocacy in Ontario’s legal system.
Working with partners in the justice and health care sectors, the Mental Health Strategy will enable legal aid lawyers to approach the intersecting legal issues of mental health clients in a more coordinated fashion.
In 2015, LAO funded the joint intervention by the Mental Health Legal Committee (MHLC) and the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO) in the judicial review of K.M. v Kodama before the Ontario Divisional Court. A transgender man, K.M., applied to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario alleging that, while providing medical services, Dr. Kodama had […]
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) released its Mental Health Strategy today, outlining new programs and services to better help clients with mental health or addiction issues. “The launch of this strategy is an important step,” says John McCamus, LAO’s chair. “One in three of LAO’s clients experience mental health or addiction issues. Furthermore, people with mental […]
Infographic: National addictions awareness week 1 in 5 Canadians experiences a mental health or addiction problem in any given year. Addiction is a treatable chronic health condition that affects individuals, families and communities. 3 times to 4 times more likely for Canadians in the lowest income group to report poor to fair mental health than […]
by Colleen Gray The Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth (OPACY) works with young people in the child welfare, youth justice custody settings, or children’s mental health systems. We have tracked calls from young people about their health rights, who have indicated that they are denied personal health and treatment information, feel […]