He was removed from his community for weeks for a psych evaluation. His family says there must be a better way
CBC
Gilles-Francis Pone Shecanapish may not be able to talk about his experience being flown 500 kilometres to a psych ward, but his sister says the experience has left a mark on the 40-year-old who has severe intellectual disabilities and is non-verbal.
"This was the first time he was separated from my parents," said Martha-Mary Shecanapish of Kawawachikamach, a Naskapi community located in northern Quebec near Labrador.
She says her brother, known in the community as Pone, now won't let his parents out of his sight after being forced out of his community for several weeks.
Charged with assault following an incident in 2021, Shecanapish says a judge decided in late October that Pone needed an evaluation at the Sept-Îles, Que., hospital, partly to determine if he was a risk.
That's when she mobilized the community — launching a petition that garnered nearly 500 signatures and a Facebook page amassing hundreds of followers — to show their support in bringing him home.
Following a month away, including an evaluation in hospital and a tribunal hearing, she says Pone returned home in late November.
Shecanapish says there needs to be better resources for adults living with disabilities to prevent removal from their homes, especially for those in Indigenous communities.
Adopted by the Shecanapish family when he was a child, Pone is able to speak a few words in Naskapi but has the mental capacity of a three-year-old, says Shecanapish.
In 2021, Pone was triggered in the local store and grabbed onto someone — resulting in a complaint being filed with the police, she says.
"The complaint was that he was a danger to the community with these outbursts," said Shecanapish.
"My parents were scared.… It was so traumatic to us."
Marie-Andrée Caron, Pone's lawyer, says the provincial commission responsible for mental health conditions, La Commission d'examen des troubles mentaux, will determine if Pone is unfit to stand trial due to his mental state.
In an emailed statement to CBC News, Caron said in cases where the accused is considered unfit, the commission determines if they represent a significant risk to public safety.
"[If] the accused does not represent a significant risk to public safety, the commission must release him or her unconditionally," read the statement.
A new supergroup of musicians from Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation have collaborated on a Robbie Robertson-inspired song they will perform at the Junos Honouring Ceremony later this month in Hamilton.
People as young as 45 should be invited to provincial and territorial programs to screen for colorectal cancer, the Canadian Cancer Society urged on Wednesday.
The Métis Nation-Saskatchewan (MN-S) has opened an office and retail space in Ottawa to create a stronger presence in the capital since removing itself from the Métis National Council in 2024.
Toronto resident Winhan Wong's lung cancer journey began in 2016, with a nagging cough that just wouldn't go away.
Last month, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak pointed out on social media that history was made this year because there are a record 164 female chiefs serving across the country.
Most of humanity has a great propensity to think in the short-term, but generally, long-term considerations — air pollution, deforestation and emissions, for example — just aren't our thing.
As the COVID-19 pandemic began to unfold in early April 2020, Kolter Bouchard was just weeks into fatherhood when he noticed a lump on his neck.
Advocates and health care providers say they remain concerned about First Nations kids seeking services under Jordan's Principle even after the Canadian government’s recent promise of $1.55 billion in funding.
Contrary to science fiction, black holes are not portals to other dimensions or cosmic vacuum cleaners that swallow up everything around them.
An attempt to preserve files documenting some of the worst harms caused by Indian Residential Schools could soon head to Parliament.
A new survey suggests about three million Canadian adults are currently taking GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic or Mounjaro and that many more would like to, but cost is a barrier.
For years, people living in Canada’s north have reported an increasing numbers of polar bears on shore, venturing into communities and encountering humans.
When Maureen Hayes first tested her Ottawa home for radon a little over a year ago, the initial reading was far below Canada's current threshold to take action.