The Community Legal Assistance Society, Pivot Legal Society, West Coast LEAF, and the BC Civil Liberties Association have released a set of priorities that would improve and strengthen the justice system, advance human rights and ensure the principles […]
Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
Two individuals and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities filed a legal action in the BC Supreme Court today to challenge a BC law that forces psychiatric treatment on people without their consent. […]
Vancouver, Coast Salish Territories
CLAS believes that people with mental illness have the right to participate meaningfully in their own treatment and recovery. However, British Columbia’s mental health laws deprive all involuntary patients — including patients living in the […]
By Dante Abbey, CLAS Staff Lawyer
Recently, the attention of the national media was again captured by a hearing of the Manitoba Mental Health Review Board in the case of Vincent Li. As you may know, the Court found Mr. Li to […]
I hear the words, the thoughts, the feeling tones, the personal meaning, even the meaning that is below the conscious intent of the speaker. Sometimes too in a message which superficially is […]
We’ve all seen movies or TV shows where the brilliant psychopath escapes criminal liability by using the “insanity defence.” On the steps of the courthouse, he or she would smile deviously and walk out free as a bird, thrilled to have […]
This week I had my first Mental Health Review Board hearing as a legal advocate. As tends to happen with firsts, the experience left a strong impression on me. So much about the hearing process is new to me – the […]
As an Advocate, I work closely with my clients while they challenge their certification under the Mental Health Act. A common concern repeatedly raised by clients is about access to and the quality of affordable housing moving forward from hospitalization. A common […]
The Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS) endorses the recommendations made today by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, calling on government and police boards to immediately stop disclosing non-conviction information as part of employment – related record checks outside […]
