Good morning, everyone.
Thank you for the invitation to appear before you today.
I'll speak in French, so I hope the interpretation is working.
I'm the president of the Canadian Mental Health Association. I'm here to speak on behalf of the Quebec division.
I won't waste my time talking about statistics, since Dr. Fairbairn, Dr. Dawson and Dr. Collins have explained the effects very well. I'll focus on what we can do. I'll talk about possible solutions to the crisis we're experiencing.
Everyone is affected by COVID-19, but everyone is affected in a different way. The question is how can this be changed to have an overall effect on the Canadian population. In 2019, the Canadian Mental Health Association released a document entitled “Cohesive, Collaborative, Collective: Advancing Mental Health Promotion in Canada”. In our view, mental health promotion is the final frontier. It is the file to be explored and developed.
Promotion differs from prevention. Prevention focuses on reducing symptoms. Promotion focuses on positive mental health. Positive individual and collective mental health must be cultivated. These interventions must be made throughout the lifespan. This includes all populations, including youth and seniors with different life experiences. Promotion can take place in different settings, such as schools, local settings and workplaces. The good news is your mandate. The federal government has that responsibility. It can provide focused leadership in the current crisis.
Mental health promotion is inclusive. It reaches the rich, the poor, people already diagnosed with mental illness and people at risk. It allows for the development of a campaign that respects these differences and addresses the issue of the ever-changing nature of this crisis.
At the beginning of the pandemic, people across Canada posted rainbows, and people often said, “It's going to be okay”. It was very comforting in March, April and May, but December is tomorrow. Is it as comforting?
Mental health promotion is a complex thing. What speaks to me may not speak to you and may not speak to the most vulnerable population.
At the Quebec division of the Canadian Mental Health Association, we believe that a community mental health approach is needed to ensure that the campaign will reach the most vulnerable in many different ways. Community organizations have an intimate knowledge of the vulnerability of individuals, families and communities. They have experience with the other layer of exclusion that these groups are currently experiencing. The speeches of all the witnesses before me are proof of this. The most vulnerable people in our community are experiencing another layer of exclusion that is really difficult.
What can be done?
In our opinion, the only way is through community organizations. We already have campaign models. Mental health week has been carried out by the Canadian Mental Health Association for 70 years now. Five years ago there was the get loud campaign. This year, because of the pandemic, we feel we really need to talk about it. There's a need for comprehensive campaigns and very targeted interventions that reach out to the different needs of the population. The only way to do that is through mental health promotion and through community organizations across Canada.
For example, Quebec has the Vieillir en bonne santé mentale program. People can't stay connected or they don't have access to technology. You really have to be innovative. As I said, it's a complex issue. You have to mobilize community agencies that can respond. All community movements have an advantage.
They can change on a dime, and this COVID virus gives us the opportunity to live continuous uncertainty and we need to turn on a dime.
My recommendations are very clear. The government must commit to mental health promotion. It must not be limited to impact. It has been proven that it will have an effect, not just on the impact of COVID-19, but on the entire health care system and health care needs.
Therefore, I recommend that the federal government support community mental health across Canada with a specific mandate to develop mental health promotion programs that are innovative and adapted to the current context.
These programs should foster positive mental health through positive messages delivered to our diverse communities and promote the connectivity of citizens, whether at home, at school, in the community at large, or at work.
Thank you.