Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

involved in TPS efforts in this area. The Mental Health Sub-Committee was established
in 2009 to examine the complex policing issues related to mental health. It is designed
to be a mechanism to facilitate ongoing dialogue with the community and other mental
health-related stakeholders in order to enable the TPSB to address mental health issues
in an informed manner. 84
98. As mentioned in Chapter 3 (Context), the Sub-Committee’s composition is an
important mechanism through which the perspective of those who have experienced
mental health issues is brought to bear. The Sub-Committee is co-chaired by a leading
advocate on behalf of those with mental health issues and by the Chair of the TPSB.
Members also include representatives from mental health treatment organizations, the
TPSB, the Service, and the wider community.
99. One of the Sub-Committee’s main initiatives has been its community
consultation process, conducted through public meetings and written submissions,
concerning the Service’s potential expansion of use of CEWs. The Sub-Committee
produced a report that summarizes its consultations, and recommended that CEW use
not be expanded at this time. The report raised key concerns, including the position that
CEWs should not be considered a substitute for de-escalation and communication, and
that there is a paucity of medical evidence regarding the health effects of CEWs, among
other concerns. 85 The majority of deputants supported that view.
100. The Sub-Committee has also played an active role in reviewing, and
recommending improvements to, training and the Service’s initiatives for helping
people in crisis, including the MCIT.
101. In spite of the positive effort undertaken to create the Mental Health Sub-
Committee, a wide variety of stakeholders and others who spoke to the Review
expressed the view that there still is insufficient contact between people with mental
illness and individual police officers outside of ordinary policing duties. Many people
suggested that there is a mutual stigma between people with mental illness and police
officers, which can be reduced if the two groups spend more time with each other and
become more familiar on an individual level.
7. Information sharing, privacy, and physician-patient
confidentiality
102. Information-sharing issues are an obstacle to effective coordination between the
TPS and the mental health system with respect to people in crisis. Individuals have a
reasonable expectation of privacy in their healthcare information, as protected by the
Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (PHIPA), 86 and healthcare
institutions must protect physician-patient confidentiality.
84
Alok Mukherjee, “Submission from Community Members of the Board’s Mental Health Sub-Committee Regarding Expanded
Deployment of Conducted Energy Weapons” (Report presented to the Toronto Police Services Board, 8 October 2013), online:
Canadian Mental Health Association at 13-14.
85
Id. at 16-17.
86
Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004, S.O. 2004, c. 3, Sch. A.
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