Okay.
In the past, employment models have worked very well for the mentally ill and are very fiscally responsible, and as Mr. Roots says, they give the bang for your buck. A huge burden is created by the mental health issues in this country when people are not able to work. If we can have employment models that work, then we can reduce that burden. The National Network for Mental Health used to have such a project called BUILT, Building Up Individuals through Learning and Teamwork, whereby we offered job readiness training for people and job coaching so that people could get jobs and maintain them.
The Routes to Work program was a project of the Canadian Mental Health Association's national office. It also assisted people to find jobs and to keep them.
There have been others, but I want to bring your attention to one thing in particular. Out of the Shadows At Last was a report done by a Senate committee that led to the creation of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and that report had some recommendations. Among them, first, was that the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development, through the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities, facilitate the establishment of a nationwide supported employment program to assist persons living with a mental illness to obtain and retain employment. Second was that this program promote the development of and provide support for alternative businesses that are both owned and operated by people living with mental illnesses. Third, the report recommended that the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development report on how many people living with mental illnesses are successfully assisted through the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities.
Unfortunately, these recommendations have not been followed, and some of the programs have been de-funded.
Thank you.