Yes, and thanks for that comment, MP Battiste. Those names were in the TRC report, but I thought, given the context, they should be read into the record of the House of Commons so that they will always be remembered. I think there are more names to come, and that's, I think, what's gripped the entire country, including your community, and really triggered a number of people. Some of the most poignant testimony I've heard has been from those people who are not prepared to speak about these things. They haven't cried since they were 15. It's a recurring theme that I've heard when communities reach out and say they are not ready for this, but will we be there when they are? The answer is yes, and for those who are ready and who want to accelerate things, we will be there.
What we haven't gauged completely,...although my team that's here today is reaching out to communities to get a sense of what mental health needs are. Obviously, there are the mental health needs that I highlighted in my introduction, and obviously a phone line, as important as it is, is not sufficient. This is magnified as well by what we've seen through COVID, which is an increased stress on indigenous communities' mental health.
One of the budget items that was announced in budget 2021 was over $500 million for mental health supports. We don't do very well as a government or as a country in talking about mental health. Some of us who are probably best to speak about it don't, and those who are not so good do, and I'm the latter, but that is my job. I think it is important to recognize that everyone in the country is hurting, and even long after some of the news stories have died down, people will remain hurt and triggered, along with feeling the effects of intergenerational trauma.
For the immediacy of the communities in question, we've deployed additional mental health supports and perimeter security, as you can imagine. We're also working with FNHA. As you know, it's first in class in B.C. and is doing some great work with health resources in communities.
The mental health support is yet to be fully understood and engaged as it relates to the particular events that have happened in the last two weeks, but we're getting a sense of that, and it is very important and again, magnified by COVID.