Thank you for that question. I'm very happy to have that question.
First, the federal government has demonstrated the importance of mental health. Prior to COVID-19, there was a $6-billion investment in mental health and providing mental health supports. Actually, I think it was $5 billion for mental health and $6 billion for palliative care and home care. It was $5 billion; sorry, I will correct myself. That was an area where, normally, we were not giving specific money for mental health, but we knew the importance.
COVID-19 has demonstrated this even more. As I've said—and I'm happy to hear that you're hearing that I'm engaging with unions—I have heard in my engagement with unions that this is really important. In terms of my mandate letter and including mental health as part of occupational health and safety, I think this is an important step forward. There is case law now that demonstrates that mental health should be a part of occupational health and the safety for our overall health. I know that, in terms of my mandate commitment, there is a discussion paper that is going out with respect to mental health and a survey, and that's going to be released very soon. I'm talking about within the next two weeks. That is an opportunity for us to get the information so that, as we move forward, if we are spending money, if we are putting supports in place, these are supports that are going to make a real difference in the lives of workers.