B.C. woman hospitalized involuntarily gets legal aid for mental health hearing
VANCOUVER — A British Columbia woman hospitalized against her will under the Mental Health Act has won a legal battle with the provincial government over her right to have a publicly funded lawyer argue for her release.
The provincial government announced Monday it would provide the 39-year-old woman with a lawyer at an upcoming review of her detention after she filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court late last week.
The woman, whose name is protected by a publication ban, argued she had a constitutional right to representation in court after legal services informed her it didn’t have the resources to provide her with a lawyer until October at the earliest.
That legal challenge is no longer going forward, but arguments are still expected to be heard in late September on the more general constitutional question around entitlement to legal representation at Mental Health Review Board hearings.