QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions
Mental Health Services
March 21, 2024
Thank you, minister. The 2024 report of the Canadian Mental Health Association, or CMHA, assigns Canada a failing grade for access to mental health services and system navigation. According to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, other countries of the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development, or OECD, devote approximately 13% of their total health spending to mental health, whereas Canada only allocates 7-9%. That may have increased. Minister, can you clarify when Canada will invest in mental health services commensurate with at least 13% of the total health spending?
Thank you so much for the question.
I agree with you. We need to prioritize mental health within our health systems. It is something that, coming into this role, was a key priority for me. That is why, with the bilateral agreements with provinces and territories, $25 billion was earmarked specifically for mental health services allocations and was a key principle in the bilateral agreements in the provision of their work plans.
In doing a survey of the current agreements we have in place, overall, over 30% of funds allocated to jurisdictions are going to mental health.
That means that on the ground, in jurisdictions, they understand that they have to partner deeply with existing community services available, such as CMHA and others, to ensure that the access is available. We’re continuing to push them on their action plans. They will have to report with data‑driven results to show how they are reaching citizens in their jurisdictions to be able to access those services.
That leads me to the next question.
You know that I have dedicated my career to children’s mental health. Could you outline the specific federal investments in children’s mental health, but particularly how Canadians will ascertain value for these investments through metrics such as increased access to services, reduced wait times and improved outcomes?
Thank you for the question. As a mother of two teenage daughters myself, mental health is at the top of my mind. We have navigated the pandemic together as a family, and we’ve also navigated October 7 together and the tragedies within my own family on the other side of the world.
I will say that we have been investing in the Integrated Youth Services program now for a number of years, with 26 hubs across the country, with data being collected by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to see how we can best meet the needs of youth in one-stop-shop hubs with everything from prevention to addressing mental health needs, sexual health and harm reduction services as well.
It also provides services in family peer support. We cannot help the youth if we don’t help their families.
