“I Wouldn’t Hurt a Fly” Globe and Mail Feb.14, 2006 by Tu Thanh Ha

On Dec. 14, 2005, Francios Pepin fired a high power rifle through his closed apartment door, killing Constable Valerie Gignac, who was there in respond to complaints from his neighbors.

He was well known to both the police and the justice system and was repeatedly order to seek psychiatric help. His behavior was erratic and he was clearly experiencing paranoid delusions and feelings of persecution, but he would obstinately refuse to seek help. And the courts would constantly stop short of ordering involuntary treatment.

Sadly it is clear now that if he had been forced to receive the appropriate treatment, the young police officer would still be alive today, and Mr. Pepin’s life would be far better now than it ever was.

Involuntary treatment is a thorny issue. Pierre Marchand, one of several legal aid lawyers who represented him, says that is hard to force someone to seek professional help. The bar for such actions is set very high because “otherwise, if you didn’t like your neighbor, you could have him institutionalized.”

Guy Davis, a University of Montreal criminologist and psychologist, who did not treat Mr. Pepin, but who was familiar with such cases said that many professionals do not like court appointed cases because the individuals are often uncooperative.

There is now an onus upon governments to establish clear guidelines regarding involuntary treatment, and those guidelines must also exist within the framework of the Charter of Rights, so that the guidelines will not be abused.

Most mental illnesses are now believed to be biological brain disorders that disrupt people’s thoughts, emotions and behavior. The only sway to safeguard the rights of the mentally ill and the public are the use of medications that have been demonstrated as effective in treating such illnesses.

Such legislation must be careful not to criminalize mental illness. Most people who suffer from a mental illness are not violent or dishonest. At the very worst, they can merely be a nuisance. Involuntary treatment should not be considered a punishment, but rather as necessary intervention to help people who are to ill to seek help on their own.