Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Doherty, for being here.
Mental illness affects some 6.7 million Canadians. That's about 20% of the population. It costs our economy an estimated $51 billion each year. That's a bigger burden than is caused by cancer or infectious disease, yet only about 7% of public health care spending in Canada goes to mental illness. Nearly one in 10 of the Canadian military personnel who took part in the mission in Afghanistan are now collecting disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder. Experts say the prevalence of that disease is likely much higher among Canada's combat troops.
Overall, 17% of Canadians aged 15 or older reported having a mental health care need in the past year, but one-third of those individuals reported that their needs were not fully met. We all know that most mental health remedies and therapies are actually not even covered by our health care system, such as access to counselling.
Mr. Doherty, you mentioned that maybe we've only recently come to terms with PTSD, and I think that's partially true. But in 2008, almost 10 years ago, researchers at McMaster University released a study that found the prevalence rate of lifetime PTSD in Canada was an estimated 9.2%. Furthermore, the researchers estimated that at any given time, 2.4% of the population is experiencing the disorder. A study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found that Canada had the highest prevalence of PTSD of the 24 countries included in the study. They found that 9.2% of Canadians, almost one in 10, will suffer from PTSD in their lifetime.
I'm going to congratulate you as a private member for bringing this important issue forward, but I want to put on the record that I don't believe that a federal framework for PTSD should have been left to the efforts of a private member. I believe it is the responsibility of the government of the day to bring that framework forward, and the government has failed to do so over the last 10 years. I want to put that on the record.
Mr. Doherty, I think your bill is an excellent start. It mentions first responders and military. First responders are twice as likely as the average Canadian to suffer from PTSD. Every day they selflessly brave horrific circumstances that greatly increase their susceptibility to operational stress injuries. They have our backs, and I think it's time we had theirs.
In terms of the military, we must honour the incredible sacrifices made by our courageous women and men in uniform every single day. We have to remember that these heroes are human, too, and we need to give them the respect and the services they deserve.
Having said that, as I study your bill, I'm concerned about the scope of the bill being too narrow. In your preamble, you specifically mention first responders, firefighters, military personnel, corrections officers, and members of the RCMP. Those are the only groups that are specifically mentioned. Your bill calls for the convening of a conference, no later than 12 months after the day on which the act comes into force, with the Minister of National Defence, the Minister of Veterans Affairs, and then provincial and territorial government representatives. Of course, that conference will be convened by the Minister of Health.
My questions to you are going to be about whether you would be amenable, Mr. Doherty, to broadening this. Let me go through the broadening that I suggest would make your bill even better.
We know there are gender differences in the prevalence, comorbidity, presentation, and treatment of PTSD. Women are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with PTSD. The reasons are a little bit unclear. Some think it could be linked to sexual assault, because women are of course much more likely to experience sexual assault than are men. Mr. Doherty, would you be amenable to us amending your bill to include the Minister of Status of Women, as a ministry, to join the Ministers of Veterans Affairs and National Defence in this conference?