Alberta passes amendment to the "Mental Defectives Act of Alberta"

1923. The 1919 "Mental Defectives Act" of Alberta, Canada is amended to the 1923 "Mental Defectives Amendment Act", which offers a redefinition of the term, "mentally defective person."

The redefinition reads as follows:

"The words 'MENTALLY DEFECTIVE PERSON' in this Act shall mean and include any person afflicted with mental deficiency from birth, or from an early age, so pronounced that he is incapable of managing himself or his affairs, and who is not insane or dangerous to be at large."

"Mentally defective" is distinct from other terms, such as "mentally incompetent", in its focus on the physical nature of the defect. This term was in common use until 1962, and was frequently used as a noun defining a person, rather than an adjective describing a person, as in the 1937 Estates of the Mentally Incompetent Act, Section 2 (c): "'Person of unsound mind' means a lunatic or A MENTAL DEFECTIVE."

Along with this redefinition, the amendment also transfers responsibility for the “problem of mental deficiency” from the Alberta Department of Education to the Department of Public Health.

This redefinition represents an amendment from the original Act in 1919; the amendment can be viewed here. The law would be amended again in 1937.

-Amy Dyrbye & Caroline Lyster

Alberta passes amendment to the "Mental Defectives Act of Alberta"

1923. The 1919 "Mental Defectives Act" of Alberta, Canada is amended to the 1923 "Mental Defectives Amendment Act", which offers a redefinition of the term, "mentally defective person."

The redefinition reads as follows:

"The words 'MENTALLY DEFECTIVE PERSON' in this Act shall mean and include any person afflicted with mental deficiency from birth, or from an early age, so pronounced that he is incapable of managing himself or his affairs, and who is not insane or dangerous to be at large."

"Mentally defective" is distinct from other terms, such as "mentally incompetent", in its focus on the physical nature of the defect. This term was in common use until 1962, and was frequently used as a noun defining a person, rather than an adjective describing a person, as in the 1937 Estates of the Mentally Incompetent Act, Section 2 (c): "'Person of unsound mind' means a lunatic or A MENTAL DEFECTIVE."

Along with this redefinition, the amendment also transfers responsibility for the “problem of mental deficiency” from the Alberta Department of Education to the Department of Public Health.

This redefinition represents an amendment from the original Act in 1919; the amendment can be viewed here. The law would be amended again in 1937.

-Amy Dyrbye & Caroline Lyster