He was removed from his community for weeks for a psych evaluation. His family says there must be a better way

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.