Health order sending Manitoba woman to jail for tuberculosis treatment ‘wildly excessive’: lawyer

A woman from northern Manitoba with no criminal charges spent a month in jail after public health officials ordered her detained to treat her tuberculosis, even though she wasn’t infectious at the time.

Geraldine Mason, a 36-year-old woman from God’s Lake First Nation, was arrested under the Public Health Act on Oct. 27 and initially ordered to spend three months at the Winnipeg Remand Centre or Women’s Correctional Centre. Mason, who has no criminal record, was taken to the remand centre, strip-searched, and forced to spend the night sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

“I was scared,” she said of stepping into a jail for the first time in her life. “I didn’t know who to call. I didn’t know what to do.”

Mason spent a week at the remand centre before being transferred to the women’s correctional centre. She missed her son’s 13th birthday and her grandson’s first Halloween.

Under provincial legislation, a medical officer of health is allowed to apply to a court to apprehend anyone they believe is a threat to public health. In Mason’s case, a medical officer said she wasn’t consistently taking the medication needed to cure her tuberculosis, an infectious disease that can be fatal if not treated.

Consistently missing doses can make tuberculosis drug-resistant, the officer wrote. Mason said she never refused her medication but admits she sometimes missed doses because the pills made her nauseous and she would put off taking them to get housework done.

Mason’s detention sparked controversy, with legal experts denouncing it as an overreach by public health and a violation of Charter rights. Leif Jensen, a Legal Aid lawyer who took on Mason’s case, argued that her detention violated her Charter rights and was excessively punitive.

“There is no justifiable reason for someone to be detained in a prison for purely public health reasons,” said Harini Sivalingam, a lawyer and director of equality with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Sivalingam questioned why Mason wasn’t sent to a hospital for treatment instead of being incarcerated.

After Jensen filed a court application for Mason’s release, she was ultimately released on Nov. 28. Mason’s release date was originally set for Jan. 27, but the legal intervention expedited her release, allowing her to spend Christmas with her family.

Mason’s case has drawn attention to the issue of public health detention and the importance of balancing public health interests with individual rights. While tuberculosis remains a serious health concern, experts argue that incarcerating individuals for non-compliance with treatment is not the most effective or humane approach.

As Mason returns home to God’s Lake First Nation, she is grateful for the support she received from her lawyer, community leaders, and civil liberties advocates. Her experience highlights the need for a more compassionate and nuanced approach to public health interventions, ensuring that individuals receive the care they need without sacrificing their freedom and dignity.