The Mental Health and the Law Advisory Committee is partnering with the Canadian Mental Health Association, (Winnipeg division) and the Public Interest Law Centre of Legal Aid Manitoba to conduct research into the area of mental health and human rights. The project commenced April 1, 2010 and and the project’s anticipated completion date is September 30, 2011.
The project will involve developing an instrument to evaluate the extent to which human rights are addressed in legislation, policies and service standards in relation to people living with a mental illness.
The instrument will be piloted in British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia and used to develop recommendations to enhance and protect the human rights and social inclusion of Canadians living with a mental illness. The project team is actively getting input and guidance on many aspects of this project from consumers living in these three provinces, the northern territory and Quebec.
The project also has the following objectives:
- Conducting a preliminary assessment of the degree to which the human rights of people living with a mental illness are protected and promoted in existing federal and provincial legislation;
- Drafting a set of core standards for mental health services that reflect human rights and social inclusion principles; and,
- Developing a strategic plan that guides the dissemination of the newly developed instrument(s) to provincial and federal jurisdictions in Canada, including instruction on their use.
For more information, please contact:
Nicole Chammartin
Executive Director
Canadian Mental Health Association – Winnipeg office
Direct: 204.982.6103 204.982.6103
Fax: 204.982.6128
nicolec@cmhawpg.mb.ca