NCJ Number
158142
Journal
Forum on Corrections Research Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: September 1995 Pages: 45-47
Date Published
September 1995
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes some of the legal issues that the Correctional Service of Canada must consider when trying to mandate treatment for various offenders.
Abstract
The issue of mandatory treatment is most often raised in connection with sex offenders; types of treatment could range from counseling to castration. There are many other physical and mental illnesses that offenders could develop that would also relate to the issue of mandatory treatment. Sections of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act imply that inmates have the right to refuse treatment and the right to withdraw from treatment at any time; there are circumstances under which unwanted treatments may be administered to persons lacking the capacity to give informed consent. Various Canadian courts have ruled that the individual's right to autonomy and bodily integrity must be free from interference of the State. Provincial, but not Federal, laws authorize the compulsory treatment and/or quarantine of persons with communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis. 5 notes