Applicants challenged the constitutionality of amendments to Ontario’s Mental Health Act introduced by Brian’s Law, including expanded civil commitment criteria (Box B) and the community treatment order regime.
They alleged the provisions violated ss. 7, 9, 10, 12, and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by permitting involuntary psychiatric assessment, detention, and community-based treatment for persons not posing a danger to themselves or others.
The court held that the legislation pursued a dual purpose of public safety and improved treatment for individuals with serious mental illness, and that the impugned provisions were neither overbroad, arbitrary, vague, nor grossly disproportionate.
Procedural safeguards, individualized clinical assessments, and consent mechanisms supported the statutory scheme’s constitutionality.
The Charter challenge was dismissed.