Remoteness and its impact on the potential for mental health initiatives in criminal courts in Nunavut, Canada

Remoteness in the isolated communities of Nunavut, Canada adversely affects access to mental health services. Mental health initiatives in criminal courts exist in many cities to offer healthcare alternatives to regular criminal court processing for people affected by mental illness. These initiatives do not exist in Nunavut. A qualitative multiple-case study in 3 Nunavut communities involving 55 semi-structured interviews and 3 focus groups explored perceptions by health, justice and community stakeholders of the potential for criminal court mental health initiatives in the territory. Findings suggest remoteness is perceived to hinder mental healthcare support for court responses to people affected by mental illness, creating delay in psychiatric assessments and treatment. While communication technologies, such as tele-mental health, are considered an effective solution by most health professionals, many justice-sector participants are sceptical because of perceived limits to accessibility, reliability and therapeutic value. These perceptions suggest remoteness is a significant hurdle facing future criminal court mental health initiatives in Nunavut. Additionally, remoteness is viewed as affecting decisions by lawyers to bypass legislated mental health avenues, possibly resulting in more people with mental illness facing criminal justice sanctions without assessment and treatment.