Following a merit-based recruitment process, Luningning Alcuitas-Imperial has been appointed chair of the Mental Health Review Board (MHRB), the independent tribunal established under the Mental Health Act.

The MHRB conducts review panel hearings for patients admitted by physicians and detained involuntarily in provincial mental health facilities in a manner consistent with the principles of fundamental justice and section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Alcuitas-Imperial is an experienced lawyer and an executive in the provincial administrative justice system, with progressive and extensive experience in quasi-judicial decision-making. She has expertise in providing strategic leadership managing operations in a complex and dynamic environment, and conceptualizing and executing strategic initiatives in collaboration with others to meet high standards of performance, quality adjudication and public service.

Alcuitas-Imperial earned her BA and her juris doctor at the University of Manitoba. After articling at the Public Interest Law Centre in Winnipeg, she was called to the bar in 1994 in Manitoba. After moving to B.C., she completed the transfer examinations and was called to the bar in 1995. She has worked in the worker’s compensation system in a variety of roles, including as vice-chair of the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal (WCAT) since 2003. She also served as a member of the Civil Resolution Tribunal and the Health Professions Review Board.

She migrated to Canada from the Philippines with her parents in the 1960s and brings her lived experience as a woman of colour to the position. She is active in local arts organizations.

Alcuitas-Imperial’s position takes effect Feb. 1, 2021. She will continue in her capacity as vice-chair for WCAT part time.

Learn More:

For more information about the Mental Health Review Board, visit: https://www.bcmhrb.ca/