Michael Nehass has been plunged back into the justice system despite not facing any criminal charges.

The provincial court in Fort St. John, B.C. issued a warrant for Nehass’ arrest on Oct. 19 to face a peace bond application by the B.C. Crown.

The 33-year old Tahltan man, who struggles with mental health issues, was arrested in Lower Post, B.C. and made a court appearance on the matter the following day. He has since remained in custody.

A peace bond is a protection order under the Criminal Code of Canada. It can be issued by the court if an informant has reasonable grounds to fear that someone will commit a serious personal injury offence.

Under a peace bond, that person must abide by court conditions for up to one year.

Anik Morrow, an Ontario-based lawyer, previously represented Nehass and is now assisting him pro bono. She told the Star there are a number of issues with this matter.

She explained that peace bonds are a tool under the law for quick apprehension in cases of imminent harm.

Often, they are used for individuals coming out of a period of incarceration who have refused any attempt at rehabilitation.

But this isn’t the case with Nehass, she said.

She noted that he worked intensely with staff at the Hillside Centre, a psychiatric facility in Kamloops, B.C.

And he was released upon a decision by the board that found he posed no risk of harm to himself or others.

Nehass has also reconnected with family members, she said. They have remarked that he is working toward reintegration and has shown respectful conduct.

“To date, he has conducted himself quite appropriately in the community,” Morrow said.

The B.C. Crown’s peace bond application relies on Nehass’ convictions for aggravated assault in 2010 and 2003, along with psychological/psychiatric assessments that have indicated he is at moderate to high risk to re-offend violently.

But Morrow said this ignores the progress he has made. It also disregards the Yukon Crown’s stay of proceedings last month on charges from 2011, which was based on a review of public safety and the public interest, she added.

“They’re completely circumventing everything that’s happened in the last six years,” she said.

The peace bond application also proposes that 22 conditions be placed on Nehass while he is in the community.

Morrow said these would impede his progress and inhibit his living conditions and ability to travel for work.

She also noted there is no onus on him to prove anything, as he hasn’t been criminally charged.

“He does not accept nor will he consent to the three pages of conditions,” she said.

Now, Nehass is awaiting a bail hearing scheduled for Friday, where a judge will determine his release conditions until the peace bond application can be heard.

Morrow said she was told that hearing won’t be for a year due to limited resources in Fort St. John.

And while bail conditions are not supposed to mirror those under a peace bond application, she said, they often do.

“He’s expected to be on a litany of conditions for a whole year, which is absolutely ludicrous.”

Morrow highlighted that courts across Canada have acknowledged excessive conditions on people with mental illness don’t help with their reintegration, as they often lead to breaches.

Another issue with peace bonds, she said, is that defendants will often agree to conditions without access to counsel in order to get released.

But consenting to conditions means defendants also concede that they present a risk of harm – which can lead to an extension of a recognizance after one year.

Morrow said she is assisting Nehass pro bono because there are limited resources in the northern B.C. town, and he is reliant on legal aid.

She noted that the bail hearing for the peace bond requires a competent lawyer since the conditions are in dispute.

“I am assisting pro bono because at this stage, there’s no other option for him,” Morrow said.

“I’m trying to understand the situation. I obviously want to support his successful progress and reintegration.”

The peace bond application comes after Nehass’ nearly six-year legal saga with the Yukon justice system came to a close.

He spent almost five years in pre-trial custody at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre (WCC), much of it spent in segregation. And the high-profile case has shed a light on issues with the treatment and over-representation of Indigenous inmates.

“There seems to be a disconnect between what the government is saying and what people on the ground are actually doing,” Morrow said.

Yukon Supreme Court Justice Ron Veale also issued a memorandum in the case. He called Nehass’ “odyssey of incarceration” a “sad state of affairs” for the Yukon.

A “significant and outstanding” concern in the case, Veale noted, is that Nehass was never connected with the necessary mental health services while he was incarcerated in Whitehorse.

Justice Minister Tracy Anne McPhee has said she will order an independent inspection into the WCC which will review how the facility handles inmates with mental illness.

Once an inspection has been ordered, findings and recommendations will be reported to the minister within 90 days.