Phoenix Rising - Psychiatric Survivor Archives of Toronto

ustice for the Allan Memorial Victims
y Kali Grower
'or two years now, members
fthe Ontario Coalition to
top Electroshock have been
'ting to the Prime Minister
to Health and Justice
inisters to ask for repara­
'ons for the victims of brainashing
experiments conduced
at Montreal's Allan
.emorial Hospital in the fif­
'es and sixties. (See "A
sychiatric Holocaust," Vol.
No.1.) No one has had the
ts to take legal, moral or
mandal responsibility for
he torture inflicted on these
pIe. In fact, the Canadian
;overnment has done every-
, .gin its power to cover its
and sabotage the victims'
orts to get reparations
from the United States
government, including withholding
information and setting
up an investigation that
was anything but impartial.
(See "The Cooper Report­
Another Government Whitewash,"
Vol. 6 No.2). Angry
Coalition members organized
a protest demonstration on
Parliament Hill in Ottawa
last October 6. Our demands
were:
• that the Canadian government
release to the victims all
the incriminating evidence it
has against the CIA;
• that the Canadian and
United States governments
publicly acknowledge their
legal and moral responsibilities
to these victims; and
• that the Canadian and
United States governments
immediately offer these victims
reparations for their
permanent damage and suffering.
The organizing committee
agreed that the focus of the
demo would be entirely on
the Allan Memorial victims,
who had requested that they
not be used as a platform for
our own antipsychiatry
views. This wasn't easy; some
people were involved preciselybecause
of personal
experiences at the hands of
psychiatrists, which led them
to identify with the victims.
But it was this decision that
persuaded NDP MP David
Orlikow (whose wife, Velma,
is one of the victims) to acknowledge
our letters and
join us at the protest. The
protest received letters of
support from across Canada;
statements came from the
victims, self-help groups,
political action groups, politicians,
journalists, the victims'
lawyer and concerned
citizens.
NDP MP Dan Heap organized
a press conference for
usin the Parliament Buildings,
which, unfortunately,
waspoorly attended. The
demo itself, however, received
considerable press
coverage, particularly when
Don Weitz gave a stirring
speech in front of the US
Embassy, while the RCMP
tried in vain to kick us off the
sidewalk. NDP Justice Critic
Svend Robinson drew reporters
to the action on the Hill.
He promised to raise the issue
of reparations in the House.
It was a good demo: we generated
some publicity and support
for the victims' demand
for justice.
News from
the Front
Judi Chamberlin of the Mental
Patients' Liberation Front
(MPLF) in Massachusetts
would like us to tell you
about a booklet called The
Psychiatric Patient's Right to
Informed Consent- What
You Should Know About
Psychotropic Drugs, compiled
by the MPLF's Action
Committee. The booklet is
available free of charge to
inmates, and to others for
$1.50 (US). A new edition of
Your Rights as a Mental
Patient in Massachusetts will
also be available soon.
Chamberlin explains that
"both these handbooks are