Health committee  Is that for me? I'm sorry, I'm having a little trouble with my sound.

Health committee  Okay, our second poll.... We were surprised that levels of anxiety and depression had not changed since the beginning of the pandemic; they did not improve in the summer. They have not changed in areas of the country that have higher case counts or more lockdown measures. The levels went up and they've stayed stable.

Health committee  It's interesting. I can give you one example from where I live in Toronto, and that was a major announcement by the municipal government that they are going to be opening more trails, they are going to be keeping rinks open, they're going to be taking a whole series of steps so that going outside safely and maintaining distance is going to be much easier.

Health committee  Well, I certainly think you're right. Our polls have shown that health care workers are extremely strongly impacted by this and have experienced one of the highest levels of increase of mental distress. I think at the beginning of the pandemic there was a great deal of anxiety generated by the fact that we weren't really ready.

Health committee  That's a big territory to think about. I certainly agree with you that seniors, and especially seniors in care homes, have been unusually hard hit by this, both in terms of isolation and the physical risks and high rates of death. I don't have specific data on that from our polls, but, from my own experience and people in my own family, there's been a major effort to build the social connections through digital means.

Health committee  I couldn't agree more that this is a very important platform, and it's interesting that Canadians who are using it are looking for two things. They're looking for help for themselves and support in various ways, and are also asking the question and wanting advice on how to effectively help others.

Health committee  Thank you very much. I appreciate being invited to speak with you today. I am the chair of Mental Health Research Canada, which is a national charity dedicated to advancing knowledge on mental health, and today I offer some comments about mental health in the pandemic. I also want to outline the COVID-19 mental health polling project that our organization has been involved with.