HALIFAX — A Nova Scotia man who is challenging the province's Incompetent Persons Act has won a major victory, as the province declared the law invalid.
Landon Webb had been fighting to overcome limits on his rights as a person with intellectual disabilities and to have his "mentally incompetent" status overturned.
At a hearing in Nova Scotia Supreme Court Tuesday, lawyers for the province said sections of the act are unconstitutional and that it would be suspended for a year while new legislation is drafted.
Webb was also declared mentally competent, though he will require some monitoring.
Lawyers for Webb's parents then told the court they were giving up guardianship of their son.
"He has improved to the extent that a guardian is no longer required," Jeanne Desveaux said outside the court. "The whole purpose of Mr. Landon being transitioned to the facility ... (was) so that he could successfully live in the community."
Webb's lawyers are seeking $25,000 in compensation from the province, arguing his treatment under the Act violated his charter rights.
Webb's case attracted attention last October after he left a rehabilitation centre for several weeks, was found safe in Edmonton and returned to Nova Scotia, where he appeared in local media saying he is not incompetent.
His parents said their son functioned at the level of a 10 or 12-year-old, but Webb disagreed and filed the court challenge hoping to be free to live a normal life.
