Court finds B.C.’s involuntary mental health treatment scheme unconstitutional

The British Columbia Supreme Court has given the provincial government six months to reform laws that allow directors of mental health facilities to consent to psychiatric treatments for people who are involuntarily admitted for care. 

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities took the provincial government to court over separate but related pieces of legislation, claiming they unconstitutionally denied patients who were admitted involuntarily the right to direct their care if capable to do so. 

The court found the council had established the legislation also perpetuated a stereotype that people with mental disorders “lack capacity” to consent or refuse care. 

The court ruling released this week says B.C. is an “outlier” among provinces, with no requirement to assess the patients’ capacity to decide on care, while granting facilities “unilateral power” to treat people against their will with no independent oversight. 

The ruling says the legislation’s purpose is “pressing and substantial” but laws in every other province and territory that deal with consent rights of patients are “significantly less drastic.” 

The court declared sections of the province’s Consent Act and Representation Agreement Act infringe on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and it gave the province six months to “take whatever steps it sees fit to draft Charter-compliant legislation.” 

“The treatment of those in our society who struggle with mental illness can generate strong opinions,” the ruling says.

“The issue before me is not whether B.C. should have an involuntary admission regime for those individuals who are unable to recognize that their mental illness is impeding their ability to appreciate their need for treatment.” 

“While a capable involuntarily admitted patient can consent to their psychiatric treatment, this case is centred on those individuals who do not.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2026. 

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