Mental Health Act

• Author: Richard D. Schneider; Caitlin Pakosh; Lora Patton
• Pages: 5-90



CHAPTER 1

Mental Health Act

Mental Health Act, R.S.O. , c. M., as amended by , c. , s. ; , c. , Sched.; ,

c., s.  (); , c. , s. ; , c. , s. ; , c. , Sched. J, s. ; , c. , ss. –; ,

c. , Sched. B, s. ; , c. , Sched. B, s. ; , c. , Sched. A, s. ; , c. , ss. –.

(updated December th, )

CONTENTS

. Def‌initions

. Ef‌fect of Act on rights and privileges

PART I

STANDA RDS

. Application of Act

. Conf‌lict

. Advisory ocers

. Provincial aid

PART II

HOSPITALIZATION

. Where admission may be refused

. Admission of informal or voluntary patients

. Child as informal patient

. Informal or voluntary patient

. Application for psychiatric assessment

. Justice of the peace’s order for psychiatric examination

. Action by police ocer

. Place of psychiatric examination

. Change from informal or voluntary patient to involuntary patient

. Duty of attending physician

. Judge’s order for examination

. Judge’s order for admission

. Condition precedent to judge’s order

. Contents of senior physician’s report

. Detention under the Criminal Code (Canada)

. Communications to and from patients

. Leave of absence

. Unauthorized absence

Mental Health Act



. Transfer of patients from one facility to another

. Treatment in public hospital

. Transfer of patients to institutions outside Ontario

. Mentally disordered person coming into Ontario

. Duty to remain and retain custody

. Community treatment order

. Early termination of order pursuant to request

. Early termination of order for failure to comply

. Early termination of order on withdrawal of consent

. Accountability

. Protection from liability, issuing physician

. Community treatment plans

. No limitation

. Review

. Discharge of patients

. Conf‌lict

. Personal health information

. Consultation permitted

. Patient access to clinical record

. Notice and rights advice (Notice of certif‌icate)

. Notice of application or order

. Application for review by patient, etc.

. Application for review by person subject to community treatment order

. Hearing deemed abandoned

. Review of admission or renewal

. Board orders

. Temporary action, risk of serious bodily harm

. Parties

. Counsel for patient under 

. Appeal to court

. Psychosurgery

. Application to Board

. Documentation of use of restraint

PART III

ESTATES

. Examination on admission to determine capacity

. Financial statement

. Cancellation of certif‌icate

. Examination before discharge to determine capacity

. Notice of discharge

. Advice to patient, notice to rights adviser

. Application to Board for review

PART IV

VETER ANS, ETC.

. Agreement with Government of Canada authorized

Mental Health Act s 



PART V

MISCELLANEOUS

. Certain actions barred

. Of‌fence

. Forms

. Power of Minister to designate

. Regulations

Def‌initions

 () In this Act,

“attending physician” means a physician to whom responsibility for the observation, care and

treatment of a patient has been assigned; (“médecin traitant”)

“Board” means the Consent and Capacity Board continued under the Health Care Consent Act,

; (“Commission”)

Note: Throughout this text, the Consent and Capacity Board is referred to as the CCB, although

some older cases reference the previous Board as the Review Board.

“community treatment plan” means a plan described in section . that is a required part of a

community treatment order; (“plan de traitement en milieu communautaire”)

“Deputy Minister” means the deputy minister of the Minister; (“sous-ministre”)

“health practitioner” has the same meaning as in the Health Care Consent Act, ; (“praticien

de la santé”)

“informal patient” means a person who is a patient in a psychiatric facility, having been admit-

ted with the consent of another person under section  of the Health Care Consent Act,

; (“malade en cure facultative”)

Commentary: Authority to admit to hospital is given by the “incapable” patient’s substitute deci-

sion maker (see section  of the Health Care Consent Act). However, where the patient is older

than , they may refuse informal admission and leave. This may trigger a reconsideration as to

whether the criteria for involuntary patient status have been met.

“involuntary patient” means a person who is detained in a psychiatric facility under a certif‌icate

of involuntary admission or a certif‌icate of renewal; (“malade en cure obligatoire”)

Commentary: “Voluntary patient” is not dened in the Act; however, the courts have determined

that a voluntary patient must be informed of and consent to their voluntary status in hospital and

that this consent must be documented in the clinical record. The person must also be capable

of making decisions with respect to their patient status and is, as a result of that status, free to

come or go even where the decision to leave is contrary to medical advice.

“local board of health” has the same meaning as board of health in the Health Protection and

Promotion Act; (“conseil local de santé”)

“medical ocer of health” has the same meaning as in the Health Protection and Promotion Act;

(“médecin-hygiéniste”)

“mental disorder” means any disease or disability of the mind; (“trouble mental”)

 See, for example, Daugherty v. Stall,  CanLII  (ON SC); R. v. Webers, [] O.J. No.  (Gen. Div.).