In September 2016, CAMIMH released “Mental Health Now!”, which identified a five-point plan focused on the federal role in advancing the mental health of Canadians.
Mental illness has been a poor cousin of the health care system. Considerable mental health care is delivered by health providers other than physicians outside of publicly funded facilities like hospitals, and consequently it is not funded by our public health systems.
CAMIMH recognizes that budget 2017, and in particular Bill C-44, is an important step in meeting the government's mandate to make quality mental health care available to those who need it. Hopefully, Bill C-44 is a down payment on the greater investment we need to make in Canada's mental health. The Mental Health Commission of Canada has called for an increase in funding for mental health care from 7% to 9% of total health spending, so our work at all levels of government is yet to be done.
More can and must be done to expand the capacity of our public health systems to better deliver needed and effective mental health care. CAMIMH members are committed to this goal and stand ready to make their contributions.
In our “Mental Health Now!” document, we call on governments to provide support for the growth of innovative pockets of care that our systems currently fund, and to consider adapting mental health initiatives that have been effectively and successfully implemented in other countries. There is much effective care that our publicly funded systems need to work harder to make available. This speaks to the importance of establishing a mental health innovation fund that can support better access to care that we know works, and fund the research necessary to growing our understanding of mental illness and the effectiveness of its treatment.
In closing, mental health matters to all of us. There is no health without mental health, and in the view of CAMIMH, Canada's current and future wealth depends on its mental health.
Thank you.