Mental illness and dissent

If there are still people around who don't believe that the mental illness label is a tool used by the State to quash dissent, here is a rather blatant example brought to you by none other than Veterans Affairs Canada.

OTTAWA — Weeks after an Ottawa man appeared before a parliamentary committee to criticize Veterans Affairs’ handling of benefits for retired soldiers, department bureaucrats concluded he was “clearly unwell” and worked to have him sent to a hospital for a psychiatric assessment.  ....

.... But Stoddart said Ste. Anne’s had no right to see the considerable amount of Bruyea’s medical information that Veterans Affairs Canada shipped to the facility.She noted the hospital was not involved in Bruyea’s treatment, nor did he express any willingness to be treated by doctors at the facility.

(Editor's note: Hmmm. Looks like he refuses to admit that he's ill. That's another sign of mental illness (in technical jargon it's called "anosognosia").

Sean Bruyea's confidential financial and medical files, held in Veterans Affairs computers, were looked at more than 4,000 times by 850 individuals over a nine-year period.

The story can be found at the Ottawa Citizen.