A new building to house veterans

The 40 appartments building should open in October 2020.  The 3-storey building will be located on Mikinak road on the former site of CFB Rockliffe.  The federal government provides 6,500,000 $ and the Multifaith housing initiative will also provide millions.  There will be a patio, a garden and a small park for service dogs.  "Soldiers helping soldiers" counts 400 homeless veterans in Ottawa and thousands more have no discretionary income left from their pension after paying rent.  The building will be known as "veterans'house"

Not criminally responsible of a stabing

Vlad Emira went to Saint Joseph oratory (in Montreal) with a large knife.  The 27-years-old man attacked Father Claude Grou but the audience intervened quickly.  After his arrest, he was delirious and claimed he heard voices.  On july 3rd the judge found him not criminally responsible.  He was transferred to Philippe Pinel institute, a secure psychiatric hospital.  The priest had only superficial wounds.

After a long wait, patients give up!

The Hull and the Gatineau hospitals operate their Emergency service with a minimal staff: each has 2 doctors on the day shift, 2 in the evening and 1 at night.  In the 2018-2019 year, 22,099 patients signed in then left without being seen by a physician!  The average wait was 21.1 hours!  At the Gatineau hospital, 12% of cases had to wait more then 48 hours!  Dr Nicolas Gilot, medical director of CIUSSS of Outaouais explains that he has to deal with a shortage of psychiatrists and emergency physicians.

The psychiatry department closes at Saint Sacrement hospital

In November 2018, the 8 emergency beds were closed, now it has been announced that the 44 remaining beds will be closing.  The CIUSSS wants to concentrate psychiatry services in Quebec city at CHUL, Enfant Jesus hospital and Institut Universitaire de Santé Mentale de Québec.
Of the 327 beds devoted to psychiatry available in april 2017, only 257 will be left in april 2021.
Patrick Duchesne, director of programs for mental health and addictions for the CIUSSS, resources will be directed at a new 40 beds residence, at CHSLD du Haut Saint Laurent and at Residence Mansfield.  "We are short 8 psychiatrists in the Quebec City region, and 100 in the province"
Besides the hospitals, there is a 27 bed crisis center which is always operating at capacity.  The police gets 15 calls per day of mental health nature.

Death of Jean Vanier

Jean Vanier joined the british navy at the age of 13 in 1942.  He later joined the Canadian navy which he left in 1950 to study theology and philosophy.  Scandalized by the horrible conditions of institutionalized mentally retarded, he welcomes two of them in his Paris home.  This was the beginning of l'Arche movement which now has 152 homes where 5-6 mentally handicapped persons live with 5-6 carers.  He also founded "Faith and Light" meetings which get together in 86 countries.  Jean Vanier also wrote more than 30 books, many available in various translations.
He said: "What is important is not to do things for the poor and weak.  It is to enter in relationship with them, be with them, help them build their confidence and discover their gifts."
Jean's father was Georges Vanier, former diplomat and Governer General of Canada.
Jean passed away on may 7, 2019.  More information is available on:  JeanVanier.larche.org

Killed by prison guards!

Matthew Ryan Hines (age 33 in 2015) died on may 26, 2015 of asphyxiation by pepper spray while handcuffed in the back.  The office of the correctionnal investigator has just handed-in his report and it is scary resding!  Public security minister Ralph Goodale approves the recommendations of this report.
The chain of events goes like this:  on the night of may 25:
at 10:03 PM , Hines is tackled by 4 agents who handcuff him.
at 10:16 Hines is held on the ground in the kitchen by 5 agents and pepper spray is applied to his face
at 10:22 More pepper spray, twice.  Hines begs for help.  He is sent to the shower.
at 10:26 he is in the shower, more or less conscious
at 10:29 He has convulsions.  He is removed by the feet.  He is taken to the nursing station.  The nurse does not take the vital signs, but a 911 call is made at 10:31 for an ambulance.  The nurse's noteswere later found to have been falsified. He still has more convulsions and spits blood, transfer to the ambulance at 11 PM.  The death is reported by the hospital at 00:27 AM. to the RCMP
Since adolescence, Hines has a mental illness.  He was taking an antidepressant.  His family was first informed that Hines had died of a crisis, suggesting drug abuse.
After the death, some employees were blamed but only one was fired.  The ful report is available at: www.oci-bec.gc.ca/cnt/rpt/oth-aut/oth-aut20170215-eng.aspx
The correctionnal investigator reports that the way correctionnal services investigate and write their reports on prison deaths and the lessons learned are inadequate. How nany prisoners were injured at the Dorchester pen in a similar way before this death?

Recours collectif contre les services correctionnels du Canada

Arlene Gallone vient d'obtenir la permission de demander une compensation pour tous les prisonniers qui ont été isolés pour plus de 72 heures durant les 3 dernieres années.  Pendant son séjour de 9 mois à la prison de Joliette, elle a subi deux fois un isolement de 3 mois.  Le juge ontarien qui a donné le feu vert au recours collectif a critiqué les soins de santé (y compris de santé mentale) et la ségrégation abusive.  La fermeture de la prison Tanguay pour les femmes a entrainé la nouvelle vocation d'une section de la prison Leclerc qui est désormais réservée prisonnières.  La compensation demandée est de 10,000 $.  L'avocate qui pilote le dossier est Clara Poissant-Lespérance.  8300 prisonniers ont été isolés en 2014-2015 selon Howard Sappers.