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A group of citizens staged a rally at place Émilie-Gamelin on Saturday to advocate an end to electroshock therapy as a method to treat mental illness.

It was the 13th year in a row the event was held and spokesperson Ghislain Goulet of the Comité Pare-Chocs said protesters want the province’s health minister to work toward finding alternative therapies with the goal of totally abolishing the practice, saying the minister has a “duty to protect the most vulnerable citizens.”

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Electroshock therapy is still used to treat certain mental illnesses like major depression or schizophrenia when traditional medications don’t have any effect.

At least 800 people were given the treatment between 1996 and 2013, according to a 2016 report from the Institut national de santé publique du Québec. Two-thirds of those who receive the treatment are women.

Goulet said the treatment is ineffective because most patients go back to using their medication afterward, but many end up with brain damage that results in memory loss.