Honourable senators, today I would like to draw your attention to World Mental Health Day, which will be observed on October 10, 2025. I also want to note that October is ADHD and learning disabilities awareness month. As such, I would like to introduce you to Brain Story training and invite you to events sponsored by the Palix Foundation and the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative taking place from October 7 to 9, 2025, at the Château Laurier Hotel here in Ottawa.

Nowadays, approximately 50% of Canadians report having unmet mental health needs, and there is a real child and youth mental health crisis.

Each of us has been touched in some way by mental health and well-being concerns.

The Palix Foundation is a leader in the areas of mental health, addiction and early childhood development through science, evidence-based policy and practice. The foundation’s commitment to knowledge mobilization and its support for the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative and other initiatives have helped bridge the gap between science and service delivery. Importantly, the Palix Foundation’s work reinforces the urgent need for early intervention and a whole-of-society and whole-of-government approach, key recommendations from my Senate round-table report on mental health parity across the lifespan released last year.

The Brain Story is about how early experiences shape our lives and how this shapes lifelong health and mental wellness outcomes, like heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and mental health and addiction disorders. It is also about how to build resilient brains.

The foundation’s mission is guided by a distinguished expert council, which includes leaders from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, or CIHR, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and former governor of the Bank of Canada David Dodge. With the vision and support of Ms. Nancy Mannix, Chair and Patron of the Foundation, Palix continues to influence how we understand wellness, prevention, resilience and recovery across Canada.

Honourable senators, I have devoted my career to these very issues because they are foundational to the health, wellness, economic prosperity, resilience and sustainability of our society. In truth, they are central to the democratic foundations of our country.

So it is with great excitement that I invite you to attend as many of these events as possible at the Château Laurier in the coming week, from October 7 to 9. There can be no true health without mental health.

Thank you, meegwetch.