It can sometimes happen that a person represents a danger to himself or to the public.

In order to protect him, the Act respecting the protection of persons whose mental state presents a danger to themselves or to others gives extraordinary powers to the Court of Quebec to order that a person be confined in a hospital for a certain time without his consent.

“Confinement” means that the person considered dangerous to himself or to the public will be kept in a hospital for a period of time set by the Court of Quebec.

Once the person is confined, the Act provides that he may address the Tribunal administratif du Québec in order to contest the continuance of the confinement. The role of the Tribunal will then be to assess the dangerousness of the person under confinement and decide whether his confinement should or should not be continued.

Anyone who is not satisfied with how the Tribunal has handled his proceeding, including the processing time, can file a complaint with the Québec Ombudsman. It has the power to examine complaints, conduct investigations and make recommendations. However, the Ombudsman may not put an end to the confinement or quash a judicial decision.