![['Chief Provincial Court Judge Nancy Orr']](https://saltwire.imgix.net/nancy-orr-3083305.png?cs=srgb&fit=crop&h=568&w=847&dpr=1&auto=format%2Ccompress%2Cenhance)
GEORGETOWN, P.E.I. — A case involving a man who underwent a mental health assessment will see the doctor who prepared the report appear in court.
Adam Gregory MacDonald appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Georgetown Thursday where he is facing charges of fleeing police, driving while prohibited and breaching his probation.
During a previous court appearance in September, Orr ordered an assessment to determine if MacDonald is criminally responsible. That assessment was to be completed within 30 days, but as of MacDonald’s last court appearance in early November, it hadn’t been started.
Orr granted an extension and warned the government could be found in contempt if the assessment wasn’t carried out.
The assessment has since been completed, and on Thursday, defence lawyer Hazen Brien asked for an adjournment, saying he had just received the assessment report.
Brien asked to have the matter adjourned so the court could set a date to have the doctor who prepared the report present.
He also said MacDonald entered not guilty pleas on all of the charges.
Orr adjourned the matter until Dec. 12 to set a trial date.
MacDonald’s case is one of the latest dealing with delays in getting court-ordered mental health assessments completed.
In one case, the Crown said the assessment orders were being given “lip service”.
The East Coast Forensic Hospital, which has a memorandum of understanding with the province, has been declining to complete some assessments because of capacity issues at the facility in Nova Scotia.
Health P.E.I. found two psychiatrists to do assessments, but one of them resigned soon after.
Since then, Health P.E.I. said it was in contact with two provinces to determine their ability to accept patients that require admission for assessments and the terms under which they could provide the service.
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