Report

In February 2019, Dementia Justice Canada released its report, Nowhere to Live: Housing Vulnerability of Criminal Defendants with Dementia.

Funded by The Law Foundation of British Columbia's Legal Research Fund, the publication examines one of the most fundamental collateral civil consequences faced by people with dementia who enter the criminal justice system: housing vulnerability. For justice-involved dementia patients, it can be challenging to access appropriate housing, whether in assisted living, residential care or the larger community. As such, Dementia Justice makes 30 recommendations which, if implemented, have a reasonable chance of improving the housing security of criminal defendants with dementia. The report focuses on the legal and policy framework in British Columbia; however, given that criminal justice and health are shared federal/provincial/territorial responsibilities, it has many pan-Canadian aspects.

Media coverage:

How do we care for mentally-ill criminals?
The Globe and Mail (5 March 2019)
André Picard

When dementia patients commit crimes: can Canada's justice system handle the 'grey wave'?
Ottawa Citizen (22 June 2018)
Elizabeth Payne

Dementia: the new frontier of criminal justice
The Lawyer's Daily (22 January 2018)
Heather Campbell