Mental Health Act (Ontario)

The Mental Health Act (the Act) is an Ontario law which regulates the administration of Mental health care. The main purpose of the law is to regulate the involuntary admission of people into a psychiatric hospital. Since the changes brought about in 2000 under Bill 68 (often referred to as Brian's Law, named after Brian Smith who was shot dead in 1995 by a person suffering from paranoid schizophrenia), the Act allows for a community treatment order by the attending physician. This order is intended to provide comprehensive treatment outside of a psychiatric facility. rdf:langString