Dr. Geoffrey Shannon:

A key question on systemic reform needs to be addressed. The current legislative framework is deficient, in my opinion. When the Mental Health Act was drafted, there was far too little focus on the discrete rights of children. It comes into sharp focus in these cases when they arrive before the District Court. We are relying on a separate piece of legislation. We now need a cohesive legislative framework. We need broad structural reform. That structural reform needs to reflect the commitments given in the Constitution that children have discrete rights. At the top of my wishlist would be the Mental Health Act having a separate section on children. There would not only be a separate section on children, but some level of cohesion between all of the different pieces of legislation, so when a child comes before the District Court, that child may very well have mental health issues, and we lack a bridge between these discrete areas. We seem to think there is just the mental health issue, that will be dealt with separately. What I found quite striking about the audit report is that many children were made subject to the Mental Health Act in the context of a child care issue arising. We need a broader vision as to how to deal with both the child care dimension and also mental health issues that parents may very well have.