Health and Administrative Law
We are widely recognized as leading lawyers in health law.
We represent hospitals, psychiatric facilities, government ministries, agencies and multidisciplinary health professionals. We advise our clients on all aspects of health law and specialize in delivering experienced legal advocacy before trial and appellate courts and provincial and federal tribunals. We teach post-graduate trainees in psychiatry and assist in the training of Crown Attorneys in relation to Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code.
Our experience includes:
Consent and Capacity Board
We regularly represent physicians at the Consent and Capacity Board of Ontario on hearings related to involuntary admission to psychiatric facilities, incapacity with respect to treatment, financial incapacity, community treatment orders and various applications to determine compliance with the provisions of the Health Care Consent Act, 1996.
Ontario Review Board
We routinely represent the Person in Charge of various designated psychiatric facilities at hearings of the Ontario Review Board in matters relating to the detention of mentally disordered accused pursuant to provisions of Part XX.1 of the Criminal Code of Canada and have done so since the inception of Part XX.1 in 1992.
Appeals
We have extensive experience in appeals from decisions of the Consent and Capacity Board and the Ontario Review Board to all levels of court including the Supreme Court of Canada.
Motions/Applications
We act on various motions and interlocutory applications including motions to extend certificates of renewal under the Mental Health Act, motions to suspend dispositions of the Ontario Review Board, jurisdictional challenges, applications pursuant to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, habeas corpus applications and applications respecting access to health records.
Inquests
We represent health facilities and professional staff before Coroner’s inquests. We have acted on numerous inquests into the deaths of current and former psychiatric patients, patients in public general hospitals, prison inmates and residents of long-term care facilities, among others.
Disciplinary Proceedings
We defend health practitioners including nurses, psychologists, pharmacists, occupational therapists, social workers and practitioners of alternative medicine in disciplinary matters before their regulated Colleges and on appeals.
Advice
We regularly provide advice to our clients on health law matters including the application of the Mental Health Act, Health Care Consent Act, 1996, Substitute Decisions Act, 1996, Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, the Criminal Code and the Coroner’s Act.