Quebec aims to keep tabs on those found not criminally responsible with new bill

The Coalition Avenir Québec has introduced a bill aimed at monitoring individuals who are still considered dangerous even if a court has deemed them not criminally responsible.

Bill 66, which comes with a $11.3-million budget, would create 18 liaison officer positions over the next five years. The role will be similar to that of probation officers, and the liaison officer will ensure their follow-up notes are available to the police.

The bill comes about a year after provincial police Sgt. Maureen Breau, 42, was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife on March 27, 2023, by Isaac Brouillard Lessard, a man with a history of mental health issues.

Breau was unaware of the man's mental state at the time of the intervention. This was a determining factor in the sergeant's death, Quebec coroner Géhane Kamel has said.

During the public inquiry hearings, the coroner argued that if the police had known Brouillard Lessard's release conditions, they would have had the legal tools necessary to bring him back to the hospital.

According to criminal lawyer Jean-Claude Bernheim, Bill 66 is a step in the right direction.

It is essential that the liaison officer has a connection not only with the police, but also with the medical system, he said.

"This person must be capable of ensuring that the mental health services the individual needs are provided," he said.

The bill was introduced before Kamel's full report which is expected in the fall of 2024.

In the absence of the report, the bill was developed based on situations similar to the Breau case and the government may amend the bill once the coroner's report is released.

Premier François Legault announced the bill during a tribute to Breau on May 13 at the provincial police academy in Nicolet, Que.