Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It is my honour to appear before you today. My name is Ehsan Latif. I'm a professor of economics at Thompson Rivers University in Canada. I will be talking today from the perspective of economics. I have done primal research on the impact of decisions on mental health in Canada. I will try to connect my research findings with the current situation and also talk about some policy issues.
An economic recession impacts mental health in a number of ways. Unemployed people suffer the most, because of financial stress and loss of social status. Employed people also suffer from anxiety and distress because they feel they can lose their job any time. The mental pressure during the recession period may lead to excessive drinking, smoking and drug abuse. These unhealthy behaviours often lead to chronic health conditions like cancer, stroke, high blood pressure and cirrhosis of the liver. The mental health impact of a recession may not end with the end of the recession. Sometimes people may suffer for an extended period of time.
Using large-scale Canadian data from the Canadian national population health survey, I conducted a couple of studies on the impact of economic recessions on mental health, drinking behaviour and smoking. In one study, I found that the unemployment rate had a significant positive impact on weekly alcohol consumption and the probability of binge drinking. The study also found that the unemployment rate had a significant positive effect on the number of cigarettes smoked by daily smokers. The results suggest that the impact of the unemployment rate on drinking and smoking behaviour was more pronounced for males than females.
In another study, I found that the provincial unemployment rate had a significant positive impact on depression. This study further found that females, individuals with post-secondary education, individuals with college or university education and individuals below 54 years in age were more likely to suffer from depression from an economic downturn.
In all these studies, I used data from 1994 to 2009, the past recession, so let me connect this to what is happening here now.
The recession due to COVID-19 had a disproportionate employment-related impact on Canada's service sectors, including transportation, restaurants, accommodation, and arts and entertainment. Females and young people were the hardest-hit groups, as they predominantly work in the service sectors. The other hardest-hit groups were visible minorities, new immigrants and indigenous people. Among the employed people, essential workers and health care providers were very much vulnerable to the negative mental health impacts of COVID-19. In particular, health care workers had a greater risk of exposure to the virus and had to work in very stressful conditions.
A recent study by Statistics Canada found that the pandemic impacted the mental health of all Canadians. However, youth experienced the greatest decline since the pandemic began. The study reported that women were more impacted than men. The study also found that visible minority groups were more likely than whites to report poor mental health. The study found that those already experiencing poor mental health before COVID-19 were impacted even more by the pandemic. Finally, the study found that a substantial number of Canadians reported increases in their alcohol, cannabis and tobacco consumption.
During this COVID-19 period of physical distancing, virtual mental health services play a vital role in providing mental health care. Virtual mental health services allow better access to care for people living in rural and remote areas. Young people who are avid users of the Internet may find virtual mental health care more comfortable and attractive. However, many rural and remote areas lack access to quality Internet access. Further, marginalized groups, such as homeless people, may not be able to afford Internet facilities. Some groups, such as older people, are not familiar with modern technology. For complex mental health problems, virtual health care may not be enough, and patients may also need in-person care. In the coming days, we need to expand virtual mental health services. However, at the same time, we need to make it accessible to all groups, including people in rural and remote areas, indigenous people, homeless people and the older population.
During the pandemic, the Government of Canada launched a web portal called Wellness Together Canada, focusing on mental wellness. This web portal connects to peer support workers, social workers, psychologists and other professionals for confidential chat sessions and phone calls to deal with mental health issues. This publicly funded tool was certainly helpful, but people may not be aware. A recent study stated that only 11% of the people used the online system. We need more research on the impact of this tool.
People may suffer from pandemic-related mental health trauma for an extended period of time. For this reason, federal and provincial governments need to work together to reduce financial and other barriers to access to mental health care. In a 2018 report on mental health care in Canada, the Canadian Mental Health Association pointed out the lack of resources devoted to mental health support. The report noted that Canadian people have significant financial barriers in getting access to psychological support. The federal government can seriously consider this issue because in the coming days we have to focus more on mental health care and tackle this issue.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.