Since 2009, the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) has partnered with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) to prepare a guide for frontline mental health care providers. A Practical Guide to Mental Health and the Law (Guide) aims to provide readers with a general understanding of mental health law issues in several key areas, such as consent to treatment, involuntary admissions, community treatment orders, the detention and supervision of mentally disordered criminal offenders, along with an overview of the provincial and federal legislation that governs the provision of mental health care in Ontario.
The Guide, which is now in its fourth edition, was most recently updated in 2023. This edition of the Guide includes legislative and case law updates, refreshed content and new resources to assist in preparing for virtual hearings and sets out comprehensive recommendations on the use of restraints. Other substantive updates address hospital–police interactions, the Child, Youth and Family Services Act (CYFSA), virtual care, medical assistance in dying for mental health patients and updates to the discharge planning section of the resource. While not specific to mental health patients, information and guidance on discharge planning can also be found in Managing Transitions: A Guidance Document, which was developed in partnership between the OHA and BLG.
The intersection of mental health and the law is becoming more complex. The Guide has been a longstanding supportive resource for mental health care clinicians working within this highly regulated, and at times contentious, area of law. The OHA hopes that the Guide will continue to serve clinicians and health care organizations as they navigate the complex legal framework that supports the provision of mental health care in Ontario.