People placed under confinement

Confinement refers to the decision to confine a person whose mental state presents a danger to themselves or others in a health and social services institution based on a doctor’s assessment. The duration of the confinement, whether voluntary or not, varies.

There are three forms of confinement:

• Preventive confinement
• Temporary confinement
• Authorized confinement

Preventive confinement is the placement of a person under confinement for no more than 72 hours by a doctor who believes that the person’s mental state presents a grave and immediate danger to themselves or others. A person may be placed under preventive confinement without their consent and without the authorization of the Court or a prior psychiatric examination. A person may be placed under preventive confinement in a hospital centre or in a local community services centre (CLSC) equipped with the necessary facilities.

Temporary confinement is the Court-ordered placement of a person under confinement in order for them to undergo a psychiatric assessment. This type of confinement may not exceed 144 hours from the time the person is taken charge of by a hospital centre or in a local community services centre (CLSC) equipped with the necessary facilities. If the person was initially under preventive confinement, the total duration of confinement may not exceed 96 hours following the Court order.

Authorized confinement is the placement of a person under confinement for a variable duration. The person is placed under confinement pursuant to a Court decision that is based on two independent psychiatric examination reports. Where the Court has set a duration of confinement of more than 21 days, the person under confinement must be examined periodically, on the 21^st day of confinement and every three months thereafter, to ascertain whether continued confinement is necessary.