Honourable senators, this Mental Health Week, I’d like to speak to how digital entrepreneurship is not just crucial to our collective prosperity; it is also a tool to improve mental health. I’ve seen this first-hand. Twenty-five years ago, I was the CEO of a start-up that developed sophisticated science‑based programming to address severe reading disabilities, like dyslexia. In this highly technical field, we expanded access, reduced costs and improved outcomes. These are not mutually exclusive factors.

Allow me to offer some more recent examples. Rise, a national program based in Toronto, provides loans, business coaching and mentoring to individuals who are starting businesses, in particular, individuals with mental health and addiction challenges. Over the past 10 years, Rise has loaned over $3 million to clients who have launched over 700 diverse businesses. One of those entrepreneurs told CTV that Rise not only helped him launch a successful business but also helped to improve his diagnosed depression and anxiety, especially at the height of the pandemic. Providing access to resources that support people’s passions and create additional sources of income might not be exactly what the doctor ordered, but there’s no denying that its impact is helping people to thrive in spite of their mental health conditions.

Think also of busy families. Whether they’re in an urban or rural community, families struggle to access mental health supports. Strongest Families Institute is an organization built on research conducted at Dalhousie University and the IWK Health Centre in Nova Scotia. Over the past decade, they’ve worked to increase access to their specialized mental health and developmental disability services. Today, their data-driven e‑mental health delivery platform remotely delivers customized care to children and families in most of our provinces and territories.

Lastly, think about parents whose child is showing signs of neurodevelopmental disabilities. The gateway to receiving any support is a formal diagnosis. Just imagine their anxiety and despair when they realize that simply accessing a diagnosis is years away. Alternatively, they can access the Parents Empowering Kids program, which remotely delivers evidence-based strategies and tools that empower parents to better support their children and improve life at home. Over 400 families in rural Atlantic Canada have accessed this evidence-based mental health care and support from home.

Honourable senators, I ask that you please encourage the development of innovative mental health program delivery models, enabling more Canadians to lead more productive, joyful and healthy lives. We have to think outside the box and leverage unconventional tools, like entrepreneurship, technology and paraprofessionals, if we’re to create the capacity necessary to meet the growing need. Thank you.