Thank you, Mr. Pallister, and thanks to the members of the committee for this opportunity to contribute to the work of budget formulation.
The B.C. Alliance for Accountable Mental Health and Addictions is composed of eleven organizations; the names are attached to our brief. We're connected to people and organizations throughout the province and across Canada who share our goal, which is to ensure that every citizen with a mental health or addictions problem has timely access to services that provide the best opportunity for recovery.
As I move into my presentation, I should mention that the chair of the alliance, Dr. Jean Moore, is here as well. She'll be available to answer questions at the conclusion of my presentation.
Looking at your mandate, which is the formulation of the next federal budget, we want to submit that a case for action that is timely with respect to mental health and addictions is an integral part of helping to build not just a competitive economy but also a society that is qualitatively better for all of those people who suffer from these conditions.
Too, we're delighted to be here because it's very timely, since senators Kirby and Keon, from the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, just released their report in May. Entitled “Out of the Shadows at Last: Transforming Mental Health, Mental Illness and Addiction Services in Canada”, the report cites five key facts that are germane to the federal budget. For example, one in five Canadians will experience an episode of mental illness over the course of their lifetime; 3% of Canadians live with a serious, persistent mental illness; and two-thirds of those who experience mental illness do not receive treatment.
The meaning of this for the economy is that mental illness and addictions cost the Canadian economy some $33 billion each year in lost productivity. Similarly, people living with mental illness use more hospital days in a year than heart disease and cancer patients combined.
You now have the Kirby and Keon report, which we believe sets out a very clear blueprint for both the federal and provincial governments on how to proceed to address the issue of mental health and addictions and to recognize the fact that mental health isn't just an absenteeism from work; it's also low productivity and low participation during the workday itself.
As I said earlier, these are immense challenges that have serious implications for the economy and also, more significantly, for those who are affected by these conditions.
There was a strong consensus among those who testified before Kirby and Keon that the workplace is a critical environment for the promotion of mental health and its early detection. Therefore, we need to speak directly to the issue, creating a healthy workplace--also an employer responsibility.
With the Kirby and Keon report in mind, and the federal budget's four framing questions, here's what we present to you--as a program, as a policy, and as a financial role for the federal government.
First, establish a mental health transition fund of just over $5 billion over a 10-year period, a transition fund that would enable the provinces to begin to put in place the additional supports that are needed: $224 million annually on a mental health housing initiative, $215 million per year for a basket of community services, and $97 million per year for other strategic investments in this field.
Therefore, with respect to the federal budget, we are recommending allocation this year of $224 million for the mental health housing initiative, $215 million for the basket of services, and $97 million for other strategic investments.
The financial implications of what Kirby and Keon created are quite imaginative. They argued a cost-neutral approach to the federal government of a nickel a drink. That is, there'd be an increase in the excise tax, which has not taken place since 1968. According to their report, that could comfortably cover the increased costs in terms of what's being recommended here.
The point is that this is a transition fund. The nickel a drink is one way to go. Not everyone may support it, but it promotes thinking around how we can do this in a cost-neutral way.
So with that, I want to thank you very much for this opportunity to present.