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Published 7 August 202614 August 2026

Not Criminally Responsable

Since 2018, 159 Canadians have killed someone but were later found not criminally responsible — or NCR — due to serious mental illness. 

A groundbreaking IJB analysis of these cases discovered disturbing patterns including repeated failures by the health-care system to act before the killings took place; the conspicuous role played by cannabis use; and the disproportionate targeting of women.

Photo By Peter J Thompson/National Post

Not Criminally Responsible: New IJB data reveals systemic failures that end in death

Fresh data on NCR cases shows disturbing trends, from repeated failures to recognize red flags, to the role of cannabis, to the disproportionate targeting of women

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Behind the Reporting: When the mental healthcare system fails to perform a lifesaving intervention

Every one of us here clings onto the mental health system to perform a lifesaving miracle. But I know those miracles don’t always appear. I’ve spent the past six months adding up tragedies that have unfolded following mental healthcare system failures.

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