The project has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) through its Race, Gender and Diversity Initiative. This special initiative aims to support community-led and community-based partnerships that deal with critical issues pertaining to systemic racism and discrimination. In this case, Professors Bernheim and Ottawa have partnered with the Manawan Atikamekw Council, the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Health and Social Services Commission, and the Services de santé Masko Siwin, which offers frontline healthcare services to the Manawan community.
The project stems directly from alarming findings made by each of these groups. Despite efforts to develop better community health, emergency and mental health services, the need for more easily accessible care remains high. The community of Manawan has faced a suicide rate well above the Canadian average, and distressing events ranging from the death of Joyce Echaquan to the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic have created an urgent mental health crisis. The crisis has been further compounded by the overuse of psychiatric involuntary admission. The overuse of psychiatric involuntary admission against First Nations people is documented in other jurisdictions and is a continuation of colonial practices.
Professors Bernheim and Ottawa aim to document the effects of these coercive practices on the members of the community of Manawan so that they can develop an improved understanding of how these practices are deployed, and then contribute to the services that their partner organizations deem most appropriate in response. Crucially, the project aims to recognize the cultural dimension of the concept of mental health and to promote Indigenous knowledge as a way of putting an end to the overuse of coercive and culturally inappropriate practices. In addition to responding to the needs of community members, the project will provide a scientific basis for negotiations with the federal and provincial governments for increased self-determination for the community of Manawan in matters of health care. It will also allow for the development of useful knowledge for other Indigenous communities wishing to develop their own services.
Holder of the Canada Research Chair in Mental Health and Access to Justice, Professor Bernheim aims to support and promote research by and for people with mental health disorders who wind up in the justice system. Professor Ottawa works closely with members of Indigenous communities, seeking to identify and value their perspectives, understand their concerns and articulate their aspirations. She defended her master's thesis in 2021. The project of Professors Bernheim and Ottawa aligns with the Civil Law Section's strategic research plan, which proposes a vision of research as a tool for transformation and a source of law and social innovation.
Congratulations to Professors Bernheim and Ottawa on launching this important project!
