Thank you for that.
Since our government came into force, as I stated before, we introduced the Mental Health Commission, the first of its kind in Canada, to address and improve the quality of life of Canadians dealing with mental health challenges.
In Budget 2007 we committed $130 million to create the commission, which will be going forward with recommendations on areas to address, by 2012, in partnership with researchers in provinces and territories that deliver health care. An additional $110 million was provided to the commission in 2008 for research projects for homelessness and mental health.
But we also recognize that there is an area for youth where we need to start addressing early diagnosis of youth with mental illness and start putting in place better support systems for their families, school teachers, and whatnot. So this is early diagnosis and working with children with mental health problems throughout their lives, as opposed to when they're homeless or incarcerated or when they get into trouble. We're trying to focus on the prevention aspect of it, which is why I was so proud to announce the $27 million of mental health projects our government has invested, which will deal with children's needs and youth needs. The focus is on children between the ages of six and twelve, and we're working with parents, school teachers, health care providers, and community partners in terms of how we will deliver these programs across the country. Basically that will build on the recommendations that will be coming forward through the Mental Health Commission that we are establishing in Canada, so this is a significant investment.