Check out our growing collection of useful links and resources about mental health and disability rigfhts, including related organizations, government resources, guides, and legal information. Is there something that should be on this list, but isn’t? Contribute at talkrights [at] ccla [dot] org.
ORGANIZATIONS
Disabilities General
- Reach Canada
- Canadian Hearing Society
- ARCH Disability Law Centre
- Council of Canadians with Disabilities
- DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN)
- Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
- National Education Association of Disabled Students (NEADS)
- The Neil Squire Society
- The Canadian Council on Learning
Mental Health General
- Canadian Mental Health Association
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Services
- Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse
- Mental Health Commission of Canada
- Mental Health Works
- Police Records Check Coalition
- Canadian Police/Mental Health Liaison
- Consent and Capacity Board (Ontario)
- Ontario Review Board
- Suicide by Cop (Dr. Rick Parent)
- CerebralPalsySymptoms.com
- AddictionGuide.com
Public Advocacy
- Empowerment Council
- Mental Health Rights Coalition
- Council of Canadians with Disabilities
- Thepetitionsite.com
- Change.org
GUIDES AND RESOURCES
Disabilities and Government Support
- Disability-Related Policy in Canada
- Canada Student Loans Program-Permanent Disability Benefit (Service Canada)
- Financial Aid Directory (National Educational Association of Disabled Students)
- Repayment Assistance Plan (CanLearn.ca)
- Ontario Post-Secondary School Supports for Students with a Disability (ERINOAK: Kids)
Services and Support in Mental Health
- Mental Health Helpline (Ontario)
- eMental Health.ca
- Across Boundaries (AB)
- Programs and Services Offered by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health)
- Emergency Services and Outreach Programs for the Mentally Ill (St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto)
- Mental Health Court Support Services (Community Resource Connections of Toronto)
- Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams (Toronto Police Service)
Responding to Mental Health Problems
- Mental Health Crisis Frequently Asked Questions (Canadian Medical Health Association)
- Hallucinations and Delusions: How to Respond (Canadian Medical Health Association)
- Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders: Key Issues (Canadian Medical Health Association)
- Suicidal Behavior: How to Respond (Canadian Medical Health Association)
Compulsory Treatment
- General Information on Community Committal (Canadian Mental Health Association)
- What is a Community Treatment Order (Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office)
- Mandatory and Coerced Treatment (Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse)
- Consenting to Medical Treatment: The Process and Conditions (College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario)
- Voluntary and Involuntary Admission to Hospital (Canadian Bar Association: British Columbia)
- What Involuntary Treatment Entails (Psychiatric Patient Advocates)
Mental Health and the Police
- Legal Analysis of Issues Pertaining to People With Mental Disorders in Contact with the Criminal Justice System: Framework Overview (Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP)
- Police and Mental Illness: Increased Interactions (Canadian Medical Health Association)
- Criminalization of Mental Illness (Canadian Medical Health Association)
- Violence and Mental Illness: Unpacking the Myths (Canadian Medical Health Association)
Guides for the Police
- Contemporary Policing Guidelines for Working with the Mental Health System (Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police)
- Not Just Another Call…Police Response to People with Mental Illness in Ontario: a Practical Guide for the Frontline Officer (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health)
- People with Mental Illness: Guide 40 (Center for Problem-Oriented Policing)
Preventing Violent Encounters: De-escalation Training for Police (RCMP Gazette)- Building Capacity: Mental Health and Police Projects (Canadian Mental Health Association)
- Police and Mental Illness: Models that Work (Canadian Medical Health Association)
Mental Health and Ontario Law Generally
- Mental Health Act (E-Laws, Service Ontario)
- A Practical Guide to Mental Health and the Law in Ontario (Ontario Hospital Association)
- Accommodation in the Courts for Persons who are Mentally Ill (Ontario Court of Justice)
- What is the Ontario Review Board and How Does it Work? (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health)
Legal Assistance and Representation
You may find resources for legal assistance and representation specifically oriented towards discrimination based on disability or mental health below. Further resources for legal assistance and representation for those who may be otherwise unable to afford support may be found here.
- Empowerment Council
- Reach Canada
- Service Canada
- Legal Assistance for Canadians (Service Canada)
- Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
- Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office (Ontario)
- Legal Aid Ontario (LAO)
DISCRIMINATION, DISABILITIES AND MENTAL HEALTH
Discrimination in Canada is prohibited by human rights legislation. Not all human rights legislation are the same, and some human rights legislation prohibit discrimination in different areas (e.g. federal legislation applies to employees of the federal government, whereas provincial legislation will apply to workplaces generally).
For the reasons above, if you wish to learn about discrimination, you should consult resources that concern specific human rights legislation (e.g. the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act, etc.).
The federal government, as well as the provincial and territorial governments, have all passed human rights legislation. Below you will find information on discrimination and human rights laws relative to the geographical region to which those laws apply.
For more information on Canada’s human rights legislation, see the “Human Rights Legislation” section above.
For more general information on discrimination on the basis of disability or mental health status, consult the “Information on the Application of Human Rights Legislation” section above.
Canada
- What is Discrimination? (Canadian Human Rights Commission)
- What is the duty to accommodate and how can it help me? (Canadian Human Rights Commission)
- Duty to Accommodate (Canadian Human Rights Commission)
- An Examination of the Duty to Accommodate in the Canadian Human Rights Context (Parliament of Canada)
- Policy and Procedures on the Accommodation of Mental Illness – October 2008 (Canadian Human Rights Commission)
- Mental Health Fact Sheets (ARCH Disability Law Centre)
- Discrimination and People Who Use
Mental Health Services and Supports (ARCH Disability Law Centre) - Federal Disability Reference Guide (Employment and Social Development Canada)
In the Workplace
- Guide to Employment Discrimination Laws in Canada (North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation)
- Accommodating Mental Illness in the Workplace – A Practical Guide (Nelligan O’Brien Payne LLP)
- Accommodating Mental Illness in the Workplace: Principles and Practice (Nelligan O’Brien Payne LLP)
- What kinds of accommodations can I ask for?” (Mental Health Works)
- What is a “reasonable accommodation”? (Mental Health Works)
Ontario General
- Focus on accommodation (Ontario Human Rights Legal Support Centre)
- Inclusive design and the duty to accommodate (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- How far does the duty to accommodate go? (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Your Right to Accommodation (Ontario Human Rights Legal Support Centre)
- Accommodating persons with disabilities (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Disability and human rights (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Ableism, negative attitudes, stereotypes and stigma (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Commission appeals advance human rights law (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Rights and Mental Health Services (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Services)
- Human Rights and Mental Health Fact Sheet (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Focus on mental health (Ontario Human Rights Legal Support Centre)
- Human rights, mental health and addiction disabilities (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Stigma Against Persons with Mental Health or Substance Use Problem (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health)
- The Power of Words (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Forms of discrimination based on mental health or addictions disabilities (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Mental health profiling (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Preventing Discrimination Based on Mental Health Disabilities and Addictions (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Discrimination Based on Mental Health or Addictions Disabilities – Information for Service Providers (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Minds That Matter consultation steps (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
Ontario, In the Workplace
- Preventing discrimination based on mental health and addiction disabilities: An overview for employers (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Disability – Workplace roles and responsibilities (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
Ontario, In Housing
- In the zone: Housing, human rights and municipal planning (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Neighbourhood housing tip sheet (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Human rights for tenants (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Human rights housing: an overview for landlords (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Discrimination Based on Mental Health or Addiction Disabilities – Information for Housing Providers (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
Ontario, In Education
- Planning for the accommodation of the needs of students with disabilities (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Main barriers to education for students with disabilities (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Roles and responsibilities in the accommodation of students with disabilities (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Accommodating students with disabilities – Principles (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Accommodating students with disabilities – Roles and responsibilities (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- The Opportunity to Succeed: Achieving Barrier-Free Education for Students with Disabilities (Ontario Human Rights Legal Support Centre)
- Equal access to education for students with disabilities during strikes (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
Alberta, General
- Protected areas and grounds under the Alberta Human Rights Act (Alberta Human Rights Commission)
- Areas and grounds protected (Alberta Human Rights Commission)
- Mental or physical disabilities and discrimination (Alberta Human Rights Commission)
Alberta, In the Workplace
- Employment: Duty to accommodate (Alberta Human Rights Commission)
- Pre-employment inquiries (Alberta Human Rights Commission)
- A recommended guide for pre-employment inquiries (Alberta Human Rights Commission)
- Obtaining and responding to medical information in the workplace: A summary for employers (Alberta Human Rights Commission)
- Obtaining and responding to medical information in the workplace: A summary for employees (Alberta Human Rights Commission)
- Obtaining and responding to medical information in the workplace: A summary for doctors (Alberta Human Rights Commission)
- Drug and alcohol dependencies in Alberta workplaces (Alberta Human Rights Commission)
British Columbia, General
- Personal Characteristics Protected under the Human Rights Code (British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal)
- Human Rights in Services, Facilities, Accommodations (British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal)
British Columbia, In the Workplace
British Columbia, In Housing
Manitoba, General
- Discrimination is prohibited by The Human Rights Code (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- Reasonable Accommodation (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- Reasonable Accommodation Checklist – Developing a Policy (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- How to Respond to a Request for Accommodation (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- Special Programs under The Human Rights Code – Guidelines under The Human rights code (Manitoba), on employment equity programs and special programs in services and housing (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- Persons with Service Dogs and The Human Rights Code (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
Manitoba, In the Workplace
- Reasonable Accommodation Checklist – Developing a Policy (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- Reasonable Accommodation Policy – Sample Policy for Employers (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- How to Respond to a Request for Accommodation (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- Pre-employment inquiries: You can respect human rights hiring – What you can do, What you can ask (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- Drug and Alcohol testing in the Workplace (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
Manitoba, In Housing
- Discrimination and Rental Housing (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- You Can Support Human Rights in Rental Housing (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- Sample policy for Rental Agencies (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- Discrimination and Condominium Housing (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- You Can Support human Rights in Condominium Housing (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
- Sample policy for Condominium Corporations (Manitoba Human Rights Commission)
New Brunswick, General
New Brunswick, In the Workplace
- New Brunswick Human Rights Commission Guideline for BFOQ’s and BFQ’s and the Duty to Accommodate
- New Brunswick Human Rights Commission Guideline on Accommodating Physical and Mental Disabilities at Work
- New Brunswick Human Rights Commission on Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace
New Brunswick, In Housing
New Brunswick, In Education
- New Brunswick Human Rights Commission Guideline on Accommodating Students with a Disability
- New Brunswick Human Rights Commission Guideline on Accommodating Students with Disabilities in Post-Secondary Institutions
New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador
Nova Scotia, General
Nunavut, General
Prince Edward Island, General
PEI, In the Workplace
Quebec, General
- Prohibited Grounds of Discrimination: Disability (Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse)
- Les Notions de Déficience et de Désavantage Dans la Défintion du Motif Handicap (Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse)
- Camps de jour et enfants en situation de handicap: des obligations juridiques (Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse)
- Guide Dogs and Service Dogs – Helping People with Disabilities (Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse)
Quebec, In Education
- L’Accommdement des Étudiantes et Étudiantes en Situation de Handicap Dans les Établissements D’Enseignement Collégial (Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse)
- L’Inclusion en Classe Ordinaire des Élèves Présentant une Déficience Intellectuelle (Quebec Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse)
Saskatchewan, General
- The Human Rights Code (Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission)
- Sample Guidelines for Accommodating Hotel Patrons with Working Dogs (Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission)
- Policy on Service Animals (Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission)
- Policy on Equity Programs (Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission)
- Persons with Disabilities as a Designated Equity Group (Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission)
Yukon, General
- Duty to Accommodate – Impact on Employers and Service Providers (Yukon Human Rights Commission)
- Hiring Process – Human Rights Tips for Employers (Yukon Human Rights Commission)
- Accommodation in the Workplace (Yukon Human Rights Commission)
- How to Write an Accommodation Policy (Yukon Human Rights Commission)
PUBLICATIONS AND REPORTS
Mental Health Generally
- Client Perspectives on Improving Health Care in the Downtown Eastside (Vancouver Coastal Health)
- At Home/Chez Soi Final Report (Vancouver At Home Research Team & Mental Health Commission of Canada)
Mental Health and Community Treatment Orders
Articles
- International experiences of using community treatment orders (Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights))
- “Experience is the Best Teacher.” Community Treatment Orders(CTOs) among Ethno-Racial Minority Communities in Toronto: A Phenomenological Study (Mfoafo-M’Carthy)
- The ethics and effectiveness of coerced treatment of people who use drugs (Human Rights and Drugs)
- Why Are Community Treatment Orders Controversial? (Canadian Journal of Psychiatry)
Books
Legislative Reviews
- Legislated Review of Community Treatment Orders (R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd.)
- Report on the Legislated Review of Community Treatment Orders, Required Under Section 33.9 of the Mental Health Act (Dreezer & Dreezer Inc.)
Technical Reports
The Police and Mental Health
Articles
- Police Interactions with the Mentally Ill: The Role of Procedural Justice (Canadian Graduate Journal of Sociology and Criminology)
- Police Encounters Involving Citizens with Mental Illness: Use of Resources and Outcomes (Psychiatric Services)
- A Qualitative Study of Police Interactions as Perceived by People Living with Mental Disorders (Butler)
- An investigation into the feasibility of collecting data on the involvement of adults and youth with mental health issues in the criminal justice system (Statistics Canada)
- Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System: A Review of Global Perspectives and Promising Practices (International Center for Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Policy)
- Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System (International Center for Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Policy)
- Policing and the Mentally Ill: A Review of Issues Related to Mental Health Apprehensions by Police in British Columbia (International Center for Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Policy)
Books
- Police Responses to People with Mental Illnesses: Global Challenges (Police Practice and Research: An International Journal)
- Improving Police Response to Persons with Mental Illness: A Progressive Approach (Jurkanin; Hoover; Sergevnin)
Conference Proceedings
Documentaries
Barriers for People with Disabilities
General
- Persons with Disabilities in the Canadian Labour Market: An Overlooked Talent Pool (Parliament of Canada)
- In from the Margins Part II: Reducing Barriers to Social Inclusion and Social Cohesion (Parliament of Canada)
- A Canadians with Disabilities Act? (Canadian Disability Policy Alliance)
Accessibility and Education
- Opening the Door: Reducing Barriers to Post-Secondary Education in Canada (Parliament of Canada)
- The Opportunity to Succeed: Achieving Barrier-Free Education for Students with Disabilities (Ontario Human Rights Commission)
- Evaluating Post-Secondary Supports for Ontario Students with Learning Disabilities (Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario)
- Accommodating Students with Learning Disabilities in Post-Secondary Studies (Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario)
- Access and Barriers to Educational Services for Canadian Children with Disabilities (Canadian Council of Learning)
- Understanding Barriers to Accessibility (University of Ottawa)
- Breaking Barriers: A Strategy for Equal Access to Higher Education (College Student Alliance; Ontario Students’ Trustees Association; Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance)
- Assessment of Debt Load and Financial Barriers Affecting Students with Disabilities in Canadian Post-Secondary Education (Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario)
- College Success of Students with Psychiatric Disabilities: Barriers of Access and Distraction (Fanshawe College)
- Barrier-Free Education Initiatives Project (Barrier-Free Education Initiatives Project)
About the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.
For the Media
For further comments, please contact us at media@ccla.org.
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