That's a great question. I would say that, in my experience.... To sort of clarify my experience, I will tell you that I trained in a family medicine program specific to serving indigenous populations, and my family practice specifically serves urban indigenous populations in Winnipeg. One of the things that I see in my patients is that even voluntary admission to hospital is sometimes perpetuating intergenerational trauma for a variety of reasons. Any institution where people have less power over their decisions has the risk of re-perpetuating trauma. That would only be escalated in the context of involuntary treatment.
I have had patients express to me their concerns about being involuntarily admitted under the Mental Health Act and how that has perpetuated trauma. At the same time, sometimes it's necessary. It is important that when we look at involuntary treatment to any degree, including that sort of course of involuntary assessment that should be part of a decriminalization policy, we do so in a way that is informed by people who use drugs, by people who are indigenous and by minority groups that may be at higher risk of harms related to those policies.