Mercedes Perez is representing the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario at the coroner’s inquest into the death of Soleiman Faqiri. To date, the inquest has heard from numerous witnesses describing the conditions of Mr. Faqiri’s confinement at the Central East Correctional Centre where he died on December 15, 2016 while awaiting a court-ordered psychiatric assessment. […]
Category: Media
Mercedes Perez is representing the Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario at the Coroner’s inquest into the death of Soleiman Faqiri. The inquest is being held virtually, began today and is scheduled for 15 days. It is being streamed live daily through this link. Mr. Faqiri died at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ontario […]
The family of a Sudbury man, Andrew Martin, has filed a civil claim against the Greater Sudbury Police Service in relation to Andrew’s death in December 2020. Andrew drowned in Lake Nepahwin after falling through the ice. Andrew struggled with mental health issues and his family had reported him missing. The lawsuit was filed after […]
On January 27, 2023, the Honorable Justice Valente released a precedent setting decision on the issue of homelessness and homeless outdoor encampments in Ontario. This precedent setting Superior Court of Justice case titled The Regional Municipality of Waterloo v. Persons Unknown and to be Ascertained, 2023 ONSC 670 can now be accessed on CanLII. The […]
Mercedes Perez and lawyer Joanna Birenbaum are representing the Coalition for Gun Control at Nova Scotia’s Mass Casualty Commission. Final oral submissions were presented on September 22, 2022. Here is a link to media coverage of the Coalition’s comments and recommendations: CBC News, “What Both Sides of Gun Control Issue Want to See from the […]
On September 15, 2022, Mercedes Perez gave expert testimony at the Coroner’s Inquest into the death of Matthew Mahoney. Mercedes was summoned to provide expert evidence on Ontario’s psychiatric detention laws. Mr. Mahoney died in hospital on March 21, 2018 after an interaction with police in Windsor, Ontario. Media coverage of Mercedes’ testimony is available […]
Alex commented on two capacity cases in an article in this month’s The Walrus magazine. The article: Why Aren’t We Free to Age on Our Own Terms? discusses Public Guardians and incapacity findings across the country and is a great read. Disputing an incapacity finding is unfortunately not a straight forward task. The path to […]
In an application filed with the Human Rights Tribunal on International Women’s Day, Alex Petit-Thorne sheds light on how CUPE deals with sexual harassment internally. Kelley Bryan is representing Ms. Petit-Thorne in the claim. Ms. Petit-Thorne, a union member, made a sexual harassment complaint in November 2018 against Devin Lefebvre, CUPE Local 3903’s chairperson. Her […]
Mercedes represented a client in a complex New Brunswick Review Board hearing this week. Media coverage from the CBC is available here and at this link. […]
Kelley commented today in The Lawyer’s Daily, on mental capacity issues arising in the case of Canadian boxing legend George Chuvalo. A recent ruling of the Superior Court (2018 ONSC 311) found that Mr. Chuvalo lacks mental capacity to decide whether to reconcile with his second wife. Two of his adult children from his first […]