Thank you very much. I would like to thank the committee for this invitation to speak to you about the government's investment in the Canadian Depression Research and Intervention Network and about my perspectives on mental health research in Canada.
The global cost of mental illness, according to the World Health Organization, is that it is a leading cause of disability in terms of adjusted life years lost worldwide. Within the mental illness category, depression is responsible for the largest burden of illness. Indeed, 500,000 Canadians did not go to work today because of depression, and the issue is increasing in magnitude. At the recent World Economic Forum held in Switzerland, mental health was a noted concern for the first time, and mental disorders emerged as the single largest cost, with global projections increasing to $6 trillion—an unimaginable amount—annually by 2030. This is more than diabetes, cancer, and pulmonary disease combined.
Why is mental illness such an issue? It is because it usually starts early in life, and it increases the risk of other concomitant disorders in terms of non-communicable diseases associated with depression.
CDRIN, which is the Canadian Depression Research and Intervention Network, is a pan-Canadian network that is focused on depression and related conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide. We are very grateful to the Government of Canada for its $5.2-million contribution in its federal budget to support the establishment of this network.
Through the stewardship of three founding organizations, the Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, which is affiliated with the University of Ottawa, the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and the Mood Disorders Society of Canada, I am proud to say that the network is up and running full steam ahead.
The strength and power of this network are to promote discovery and to translate results into practice through its nationally distributed research hubs. These hubs of discovery bring together the best researchers, clinicians, people with lived experience, and young trainees. CDRIN has seven hubs spanning across Canada right now, from British Columbia to the Maritimes, including an indigenous hub in Saskatchewan, which is the newest one.
We have hosted two very successful conferences for the purpose of knowledge exchange and knowledge translation opportunities. Through the network research hubs, the best minds in research are joining forces to understand the causes of depression and to discover more effective ways to diagnose and treat depression. Each hub is akin to a large tent that brings together academic organizations, clinicians, and people with lived experience, creating a true transdisciplinary experience. The discoveries will be shared across various hubs, and the promising practice-changing approaches will be applied locally and then nationally.
Crosscutting opportunities for young researchers will ensure sustainability and progression of this effort. International links have also been forged with like-minded organizations, in particular the NNDC, which is the National Network of Depression Centers in the United States, as well as the European Alliance Against Depression.
CDRIN is taking a leadership role in partnering with people with lived experience through every phase of the research process. We are training people with lived experience how to become active members around a research table, and training researchers to embrace and incorporate the issues and ideas that emanate from people with lived experience. This partnership will ensure that the research being conducted is relevant to those suffering from mental illness, and it will help transform the mental health landscape in Canada.
In terms of military health, at the Royal we are fortunate to house an operational stress injuries clinic, and the Royal is home to NATO's first research chair in military mental health. This chair is held by Colonel Rakesh Jetly, a senior psychiatrist with the Canadian Armed Forces and a mental health adviser to the Surgeon General. It will focus on care and treatment of those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other combat-related injuries. It will also focus on depression, as this illness has a prevalence rate of 8% in the armed forces, higher than PTSD, which stands at about 5.5% in the uniformed services. The work to be done on research will translate into new treatments for those with PTSD. Canada will work with NATO partners and share research and collaborate.
As for suicide, it is, as you know, a major societal concern. Youths, adults in mid-life, and indigenous communities are at particular risk. Whereas mortality due to cancer and to heart disease has plummeted over the last 10 years, if you look at the graph for suicide, it has not budged. We have not moved the needle on that at all. Suicides are, in most instances, associated with mental illness, depression in particular. It is important to always link depression with suicides.
CDRIN has a formal memorandum of understanding with the European Alliance Against Depression. Dr. Ulrich Hegerl, the head of the European Alliance Against Depression, has been a speaker at our CDRIN conferences. As well, we've hosted workshops with parties for collaboration, including the Mental Health Commission of Canada, Health Canada, and PHAC. We have had two such meetings. The European Alliance Against Depression is willing and keen to be working with us here in Canada.
We are interested in testing the Nuremberg model here in Canada as a model that has been shown repeatedly to reduce suicide by up to 20% within a year or two of its implementation in many of the European communities. We need to test this model here in the Canadian context.
I'm happy to say that we have recently created a chair in suicide prevention in partnership with the Do It For Daron foundation and Mach-Gaensslen Foundation. This person is going to be coming on board any day now.
In Canada we spend less less than 5 per cent of our research dollars to support mental health research despite the fact that mental illness is the leading burden of illness nationwide. For every hundred dollars we spend in health care, Canada has invested less than four cents towards mental health research. We spend more than ten times that amount for cancer research. We have the capacity but we do not have adequate resources to fuel these activities that need to bring us to the next realm. We need to invest more in mental health research.
With that, I'd say thank you for your attention. I'll take any questions.