Quebec has most not criminally responsible verdicts in country

When Pierre Ny St-Amand was found not criminally responsible last month for crashing a city bus into a Laval, Que., daycare in 2023, the verdict was met with anger, confusion and frustration by some parents of the children impacted by the incident.

Although there was no doubt Ny St-Amand was behind the wheel of the bus that killed two children and injured six others, Quebec Superior Court Justice Éric Downs found Ny St-Amand to be not criminally responsible — a recommendation made by both the Crown and defence. Downs said the evidence showed he was experiencing psychosis at the time.

"It's shocking to us to see how they talk about him," said Mélanie Goulet, following the verdict at the Laval courthouse.

Her daughter Emma survived after being trapped under the bus.

"It feels like he's the victim," said Goulet.

Ny St-Amand's verdict is among a number of high-profile cases in Quebec where the accused was found not criminally responsible for their actions due to a mental disorder, often referred to as NCR.

Quebec has more NCR verdicts than anywhere else in Canada.

In April, Emmanuel Gendron-Tardif was found NCR for the stabbing death of his mother. He was suffering from schizophrenia at the time.

Fabio Puglisi was also declared NCR earlier this month for killing his mother and a neighbour after he stopped taking his medication for schizophrenia.

Court documents show Puglisi had a long history of mental illness and was found NCR for other offences in 2012 and 2020.

"Some people think that when people are found not criminally responsible, it's like they have been acquitted, which is not true," said Dr. France Proulx, a forensic psychiatrist at Philippe-Pinel Institute, a psychiatric hospital in Montreal. 

Proulx acknowledged that for families, an NCR verdict can feel like a denial of justice, but she said the judicial system in Canada specifies that "when you have a mental disorder that is serious, you should not be punished, you should be treated."

But these cases have brought renewed attention to NCR verdicts, raising questions about the intersection of justice, public security and health, as well as the degree of support and followup in place for individuals after their release.

Isabelle Gaston, whose ex-husband Guy Turcotte was initially found NCR in 2011 for killing their two children, believes there should be stricter rules and greater oversight when it comes to these verdicts.