P.E.I. discriminates against mentally ill by denying disability benefits, panel says

CHARLOTTETOWN -- The Prince Edward Island government discriminates against the mentally ill by denying them disability benefits, a Human Rights Panel found Monday.

Millie King of Queen County filed a complaint on behalf of her daughter, Laura, who has paranoid schizophrenia, after being told her condition is not covered by the province's Disability Supports Program.

The DSP gives financial assistance to around 1,300 Islanders with disabilities, but people with mental illnesses have not been eligible since the program began about 15 years ago.

"The only reason for the distinction is the nature of 1/8Laura King's 3/8 disability," the panel wrote in its ruling. "This differential treatment offends her … and amounts to discrimination. The denial of an integrity is affected. Her fundamental human dignity is denied."

Mike Dull, a lawyer for the King family, said it was difficult for them to file the complaint because of the stigma associated with mental illness.

"They made a decision knowing that it could cause them humiliation," Dull said. "They saw a wrong that had been unaddressed for 15 years."

During a three-day hearing in January, the government said its program is tailor-made for the needs of people with physical and intellectual disabilities, and that mental illness is explicitly excluded because its services are "not a fit" for this type of disability.

Dull said this is not an excuse for the policy, but further evidence of its discrimination.

Similar support programs in Nova Scotia and Ontario include disabilities resulting from mental illness.

The panel awarded King $31,000 in damages and legal fees, and ordered the Disability Supports Program to change its practices to avoid further discrimination.

Laura King suffers from delusions and social difficulties that make it hard for her to work. She lives with her mother, which Dull said can be difficult on both of them.

The DSP said it is considering how to respond to the ruling.

Dull said this is just the first step to recognition.

"It's a very modest recognition of the hurt and humiliation that one goes through," Dull said. "Laura recognizes it's not just her here."

Dull said he and his team intend to file a class action on behalf of other Islanders affected by the policy.