Thank you very much.
Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
Since this is the finance committee that is studying investments in health, I'd like to start with an interesting financial fact. For every dollar spent on mental health and addiction services, we save seven dollars in health costs and $30 in lost productivity and social costs. That's an incredible return on investment of 3,600%. If you're a banker, you'd be jumping for joy, but it represents a really smart investment by government.
From a public health perspective, I'm very pleased to see some other smart investments in budget 2017. The additional $7 billion over 10 years for high-quality, affordable child care spaces would yield an ROI of 800%; the investments in building, renewing, and repairing Canada's stock of affordable housing would result in an ROI of 200%; and the $47 million over five years to develop and implement a national action plan to respond to health risks posed by climate change could yield an ROI of 300% or more. So where did these returns come from? In addition to avoiding illness and injury, as a result of these investments people become more resilient, have less need for medical and social services, are absent from the workforce less, and are therefore better able to contribute to our economy.
Upstream investments are what public health is all about, creating the necessary conditions so that Canadians can lead healthy lives and reduce the demands for the acute care system to fix them when they're broken. Public health focuses on the implementation of policies and the provision of services to prevent or address issues from a population-based, health-promoting perspective. As the returns on investment indicate, these approaches can have a significant influence.
When looking at mental wellness, you see that the government's direct financial contribution in budget 2017 is important for those who are facing challenges today. However, it is the other contributions to poverty reduction, housing strategies, and support for indigenous communities that will have a much greater effect on future generations. Poverty, food insecurity, and unstable or unaffordable housing are demonstrated risk factors for mental illness. So, in addition to the Government of Canada's direct investment in mental health services, budget 2017 demonstrates its commitment, as Patrick mentioned, to a whole-of-government approach to improving the mental wellness of Canadians.
While we support the investments in this budget, we encourage the government to look at additional upstream investments in healthy, resilient communities that support and nurture all of their members to provide an environment that supports both physical and mental wellness. We also know that informal caregivers are essential to sustaining Canada's health care system, and their economic contribution was estimated at $25 billion in 2009. As such, it's reassuring to see the new Canada caregiver credit under the Income Tax Act, supporting caregivers in general, as well as the changes to the Veterans Wellbeing Act, supporting veterans' caregivers.
While hospitals play a crucial role in the overall health system, we know they are the most expensive and least effective location for the delivery of most mid- to long-term health services. The government's commitment to support the provinces and territories to enhance home care services is an important step in fundamentally restructuring where and by whom mid- and long-term health services are provided, and a crucial step in supporting the sustainability of the acute care system. In Canada today, the acute care system continues to absorb the majority of health sector resources, with less than 3% of health spending allocated towards health promotion and disease prevention. If we want a sustainable health care system, we have no choice but to value health and invest more in creating conditions that support physical and mental wellness.
I will leave you this afternoon with this thought. Since the early 1900s, the average lifespan of Canadians has increased by more than 30 years. Twenty-five of those years are the result of advances in public health such as safer and healthier foods, universal immunization programs, tobacco control strategies, motor vehicle safety, safer workplaces, and taking concrete actions to address the social determinants of health. In the 20th century, we increased our lifespan. In the 21st century, the goal should be to improve the quality of those years. In order to do so, we need strategic upstream investments that will make the biggest difference for future generations. Budget 2017 is a step in the right direction. Thank you.