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. […]

Read More…


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 […]

Read More…


Alex has been re-elected to the executives of the Ontario Bar Association‘s Elder Law section as co-CPD Liaison with Matthew Rendely and the Trusts and Estates Law section as a member-at-large for the 2020-2021 term. These sections organize professional development programming and networking events, prepare submissions and analysis of new and evolving areas of law among other […]

Read More…


Mercedes Perez and co-counsel Karen Steward (Advocacy Centre for the Elderly) represented the intervenor Mental Health Legal Committee (MHLC) at the Supreme Court of Canada today in Ewert v. Canada. The case involved a Charter challenge to the Correctional Service of Canada’s use of psychiatric actuarial risk assessment tools, such as the Violence Risk Appraisal […]

Read More…


In a statement of claim filed in July 2017, Philip Alafe has sued the Brantford police over his treatment while he was held overnight in a police cell in July 2015.   Kelley Bryan and Alex Procope are representing Mr. Alafe in the claim. In April 2017, Justice Lenz of the Ontario Court of Justice stayed Mr. Alafe’s charges […]

Read More…


An Ontario judge has found that psychiatric patients at the Oak Ridge division of the Penetanguishene Mental Health Centre (today the Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care) endured gross violations of their human dignity and human rights and were tortured both mentally and physically while detained. The case was a multi-plaintiff proceeding commenced in 2000 […]

Read More…


The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruled on April 21, 2017 that the Peel police discriminated against Staff Sergeant BJ Sandhu when they failed to recommend him for promotion to the rank of Inspector.  The Tribunal found that Staff Sergeant Sandhu is a decorated officer whose excellent policing skills, combined with his cultural and linguistic […]

Read More…