P.E.I. Human Rights Commission rules province discriminates against Islanders with mental illness

P.E.I.'s Human Rights Commission has ruled in favour of a mother who argued the provincial government discriminated against her 24-year-old daughter, who has schizophrenia.

In a decision released Tuesday, a panel of commissioners ruled that Islanders with mental illness should be able to access the Disability Support Program, which helps pay for certain unmet needs.

Millie King, a public health nurse, told the commission in January that her daughter needed help paying for supported housing where she could live with supervision.

• P.E.I. human rights discrimination hearing wraps up

• P.E.I. mother says province discriminating against mentally ill daughter

King said her daughter was denied access because she has a mental illness, and the Disability Support Program (DSP) is only for people with physical or intellectual disabilities.

In the ruling, the commission said the policy was "discriminatory against those who are disabled as a result of mental illness."

The panel has ordered the province to stop excluding those with mental illness from the program, and to extend them the "rights, opportunities or privileges of all components of the DSP."

Province reviewing decision

The panel said the province discriminated against King's daughter by denying her "the opportunity to apply and qualify for benefits accorded to other people who are disabled."

The panel has ordered the Disability Support Program to conduct an "appropriate assessment" of King's daughter within six months to determine if the program can help her with her unmet needs.

The province has also been ordered to pay the Kings $15,000 in general damages and $16,000 towards their legal fees.

Mike Dull, the lawyer for King and her daughter, told CBC the ruling is a sign "the status quo discriminates against an already much maligned and stigmatized population of society."

He said King's daughter "recognizes the inequity and discrimination she experienced goes far beyond her," so they've given the P.E.I. government notice of an intention to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of all Islanders disabled by mental illnesses.

That intention was filed in late February, and the province is entitled to three months warning before a class action lawsuit is formally filed.

The province told CBC News it is now reviewing the Human Rights Commission's decision.