It was near the end of Law’84 alumna Anne-Marie Hourigan’s 30-year legal career when the gaps in Canada’s mental health system were summed up and laid bare in her courtroom.

In 2013, then-Justice Hourigan presided over a case in which a man had pleaded guilty to attempted murder. The Crown was seeking a dangerous offender status and proposing to incarcerate him for an indeterminate length of time.

“I heard extensive psychiatric and psychological testimony concerning the accused and the evidence was shocking,” she says. “We dissected his life from age six to 36 and found mental health issues that were never diagnosed and learning issues that were never treated. These issues led to addictions, which led to anger problems and criminal offences.”

The accused had accumulated an extensive criminal record. Ultimately, Hourigan ruled that he was a dangerous offender, and he remains behind bars to this day.

“That was when I knew I needed to step back and help in a broader way,” she says. “Not only are the victims paying the price for the gaps in our system, but individuals like this man are paying with their freedom.”

Over her years as a defense counsel, Crown prosecutor, and finally as a judge, Hourigan saw many who might have avoided the legal system if only they had received the support they needed. That’s why, when she retired from the bench in 2014, she was compelled to help those struggling with mental health issues, learning disabilities and addictions. 

She volunteered on several boards across the country until a chance encounter with the late Hon. Michael Wilson, then-chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) Board.

“I was so inspired by his passion, and in particular his commitment to reducing stigma,” she says.

A short while later, an opening came up on the Commission’s board seeking someone with legal expertise and Hourigan successfully applied. She is now Vice-Chair of the MHCC and chairs its governance and nominating committee.

In these roles, Hourigan contributes to the organization’s strategy and policy development. Of particular interest to her is the mental health of those in the legal profession and inmates. 

Alongside the MHCC and the National Judicial Institute, she is currently hoping to bring “The Working Mind,” a mental health education and awareness program provided by the Commission, to federally appointed judges and lawyers across Canada.

“Law is a high-pressure, highly adversarial environment that features significant competition and compassion fatigue,” she explains. “Lawyers suffer from depression at higher rates than any other profession yet, unlike other professions, the higher up you go in a large firm the greater the rates of depression you see.”

Still, Hourigan sees the increasing awareness of mental health issues and the willingness to discuss them as evidence that the Commission’s work is on track.

With one of its founding objectives of reducing stigma well underway, the Commission is now turning its attention to ensuring mental health services are timely, available and culturally relevant throughout the country. For instance, the Commission will be publishing the “Post-Secondary Student National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety” later this year.

“Mental health issues are pervasive with as many as one in five Canadians, and for those over the age of 40 it is one in two,” she says. “That’s why the Commission’s hashtag this year is #fiveinfive because, even if you do not have a mental health issue, we all know someone, and we are all affected.”

By Phil Gaudreau