Honourable colleagues, I rise today to draw attention to the mental health crisis communities across Canada are facing. Unlike the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health crisis is not a new threat. In fact, in any given year one in five Canadians will personally experience a mental health problem or illness.

On September 5 of this year, my friend Neil Dunsmore, Ward 4 Councillor in Centre Wellington, began his Steps to Stop the Silence walk from the township office in Elora in my home community of Wellington County to Parliament Hill in support of mental health awareness. I joined Neil when he left the municipality on September 5 and started his journey.

Over 23 days Neil made the 531-kilometre journey to Parliament Hill to bring attention to the services and supports available to those living with mental illnesses, as well as to highlight the need for open and ongoing discourse regarding this critical issue. Along the way, he engaged in two suicide interventions where two lives were saved.

Last Sunday, September 27, 2020, I joined Neil again, this time in Ottawa, for the last leg of his walk, which coincided with the Police and Peace Officers’ National Memorial Day. In Centre Wellington alone, three officers have died by suicide in the last five years. Across Canada, police and peace officers suffer from mental illnesses, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder, as a result of their emotionally and physically strenuous roles.

The Steps to Stop the Silence campaign is working to end the stigma surrounding mental illness and encouraging those in need to ask for assistance when they need it.

Neil’s walk also raised over $16,000 for the Cody Shepperd Project, an organization that supports families affected by mental health challenges and suicide in my community. Cody was a gifted athlete at Centre Wellington District High School. After struggling with depression and anxiety, Cody died by suicide at just 20 years of age on October 20, 2017. Cody’s parents created the project in memory of their son to stop the silence around mental health struggles.

Today I would like to thank my friend Neil for bringing attention to this ongoing crisis. It is clear that these illnesses do not discriminate, whether you are a young athlete, like Cody; an active police officer, like Josh de Bock, of whom I’ve spoken before; a farmer; an agricultural producer; or a health care worker providing care to COVID patients. Mental health challenges affect people of all ages, education, income levels and cultures.

Honourable colleagues, it is time to stop the silence. As a community and as a country, and even more so as human beings, we have a responsibility to one another. For too long, too many of our family members, friends and colleagues have sat and suffered in silence. As Neil said, this walk was just the first step in a long journey to ending the stigma. I look forward to continuing to support his important work and that of the Cody Shepperd Project, and I hope you will join me in encouraging those facing mental health challenges to seek assistance across our respective provinces and communities.

Thank you, meegwetch.