BILL 35

An Act to Amend the Mental Health Act

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

1 Subsection 1(1) of the Mental Health Act, chapter M-10 of the Revised Statutes, 1973, is amended

(a)  by repealing the definition “prescribed form”;

(b)  by repealing the definition « Ministre » in the French version;

(c)  by adding the following definition in alphabetical order in the French version:

« ministre » s’entend du ministre de la Santé et s’entend également de toute personne qu’il désigne en vertu de l’article 3.1 pour le représenter; (Minister)

2 The Act is amended by adding after section 5 the following:

Forms

5.1 Subject to subsection 9(1), a document required for the purposes of this Act or the regulations shall be on a form provided by the Minister.

3 Subsection 7.1(1) of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

7.1( 1) A physician may issue an examination certificate on a form provided by the Minister if the physician examines a person and is of the opinion that the person

(a)  may be suffering from a mental disorder of a nature or degree so as to require hospitalization in the interests of the person’s own safety or the safety of others, and

(b)  is not suitable for admission as a voluntary patient.

4 Section 8 of the Act is amended

(a)  in paragraph (1)(c) in the portion preceding subparagraph (i) by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”;

(b)  in subsection (4) by repealing the portion preceding paragraph (a) and substituting the following:

8( 4) An examination report on a form provided by the Minister shall

5 Section 8.01 of the Act is amended

(a)  in subsection (2) in the portion preceding paragraph (a) by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”;

(b)  in subsection (3) in the portion preceding paragraph (a) by striking out “attending psychiatrist’s certificate” and substituting “attending psychiatrist’s certificate on a form provided by the Minister”.

6 Section 8.5 of the Act is amended

(a)  in subsection (1) by striking out “a certificate” and substituting “a certificate on a form provided by the Minister”;

(b)  in subsection (2) by striking out “a certificate” and substituting “a certificate on a form provided by the Minister”;

(c)  in subsection (4) by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”;

(d)  in subsection (5) by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

7 Subsection 8.6(5) of the Act is amended by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

8 Subsection 9(1) of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

9( 1) A person who believes that another person is suffering from a mental disorder and should be examined in the interests of the person’s own safety or the safety of others may give information on oath or solemn affirmation to a judge of the Provincial Court and the judge may issue an order for examination on a form prescribed by regulation if the judge is satisfied, after an inquiry, that the examination is necessary and the person refuses to submit to a medical examination.

9 Subsection 12(1) of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

12( 1) An attending psychiatrist shall file an application on a form provided by the Minister with the chairman of the tribunal having jurisdiction for an order that a voluntary patient be admitted to a psychiatric facility as an involuntary patient, and in any such case paragraph 8(3)(b), subsections 8(4) and (5) and sections 8.01, 8.1 and 8.11 apply with the necessary modifications, if the attending psychiatrist is of the opinion that

(a)  the voluntary patient in a psychiatric facility suffers from a mental disorder,

(b)  the voluntary patient’s recent behaviour presents a substantial risk of imminent physical or psychological harm to the patient or to others,

(c)  the voluntary patient is not suitable to be continued as a voluntary patient, and

(d)  less restrictive measures would be inappropriate.

10 Section 13 of the Act is amended

(a)  in subsection (1) in the portion preceding paragraph (a) by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”;

(b)  in subsection (3) by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”;

(c)  in subsection (9) in the portion preceding paragraph (a) by striking out “the prescribed form” and substituting “a form provided by the Minister”.

11 Subsection 16.1(3) of the Act is amended by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

12 Subsection 24(2) of the Act is amended by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

13 Subsection 25(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

14 Section 27 of the Act is amended

(a)  in subsection (1) by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”;

(b)  in subsection (3) by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

15 Subsection 28(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

16 Subsection 30.1(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

17 Section 30.2 of the Act is amended

(a)  in subsection (1) by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”;

(b)  in paragraph (2)(a) by repealing the portion preceding subparagraph (i) and substituting the following:

(a)  the attending psychiatrist’s certificate on a form provided by the Minister to the effect that

18 Section 30.3 of the Act is amended

(a)  by repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:

30.3( 1) An attending psychiatrist may file an application on a form provided by the Minister with the chairman of the review board having jurisdiction for an inquiry into whether specified psychiatric treatment, other than routine clinical medical treatment, should be given without consent if the attending psychiatrist is of the opinion that specified psychiatric treatment other than routine clinical medical treatment should be given to an involuntary patient

(a)  who has not reached the age of 16 years,

(b)  who has reached the age of 16 years but who, in the attending psychiatrist’s opinion, is not mentally competent to give or refuse to give consent in relation to the treatment, or

(c)  who has reached the age of 16 years and is, in the attending psychiatrist’s opinion, mentally competent to give or refuse to give consent in relation to the treatment, but who refuses to do so.

(b)  in paragraph (2)(a) in the portion preceding subparagraph (i) by striking out “the attending psychiatrist’s certificate” and substituting “the attending psychiatrist’s certificate on a form provided by the Minister”.

19 Subsection 31(1) of the Act is amended in the portion preceding paragraph (a) by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

20 Subsection 31.1(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

21 Section 36 of the Act is amended

(a)  in subsection (3) by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”;

(b)  by adding after subsection (5) the following:

36( 5.1) If the Public Trustee becomes a committee of the estate of a patient in a psychiatric facility, the administrator shall obtain and forward to the Public Trustee a completed financial statement of the estate of the patient on a form provided by the Minister.

22 Section 39 of the Act is amended by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

23 Subsection 40(2) of the Act is amended by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

24 Subsection 42(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “in the prescribed form” and substituting “on a form provided by the Minister”.

25 Paragraph 68(1)(p) of the Act is repealed and the following is substituted:

(p)  prescribing the form required for the purposes of subsection 9(1);

26 The French version of the Act is amended by striking out “Ministre” in the following provisions and substituting “ministre”:

(a)  subsection 1(1)

( i) the definition « parent le plus proche » in the portion preceding paragraph a);

( ii) the definition « psychiatre »;

(b)  section 3.1

( i) subsection (1);

( ii) subsection (2);

(c)  subsection 3.2(1);

(d)  subsection 4(1);

(e)  section 8.6

( i) paragraph (1)a);

( ii) paragraph (2)a);

(f)  section 22;

(g)  subsection 31(3);

(h)  section 58;

(i)  section 61;

(j)  section 62

( i) subsection (1);

( ii) subsection (2).

27 This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by proclamation.