QUESTION PERIOD — Health
Mental Health
October 9, 2024
Senator Gold, according to Mental Health Research Canada, more than one in two Canadians struggling with their mental health are not getting the help they need. The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health has stressed the importance of reaching parity between mental health, substance-use health and physical health in terms of access, funding and value, and it has proposed a new companion piece of legislation to the Canada Health Act. They’ve called for the Canadian Institute for Health Information to be adequately resourced to develop a national public, community-based and private health expenditure data series and comprehensive performance indicators for the mental health and substance-use health systems.
Will the government give serious consideration to these requests and prioritize mental health and substance-use health?
Thank you, senator, for your question and for highlighting this important issue, which has been raised in a different context already once today.
To answer your question directly, I have every confidence that the government will seriously consider this request. I would also like to remind this chamber, to which I’ve already alluded, that this government has, indeed, prioritized funding for mental health services. This includes $500 million for a new youth mental health fund, as well as providing $5 billion to the provinces and territories in Budget 2017 for mental health and addictions services.
Since then, the government has signed 13 bilateral health and mental health care agreements to begin providing $25 billion to all provinces and territories.
Thank you, Senator Gold. Mental health research remains under-prioritized and underfunded in the federal research funding ecosystem.
Will the government make mental health research a priority and ensure that the Canadian Institutes of Health Research allocate more funding towards mental health and substance-use health research? These are clear needs and priorities of Canadians all across our country.
Well, indeed, thank you. I understand, as I know you do, the importance of research in these areas in addition to the funds that I alluded to. The government treats mental health as a priority, and, in that regard, I point the attention of the chamber to the mental health in the Early Years initiative, which seeks to advance Canada’s mental health strategy by identifying solutions for safe and equitable programs and services for diverse communities. It is important work, and much more needs to be done.
