Thank you, Madam Chair, for this opportunity.
My name is Sara Austin, founder and CEO of Children First Canada. CFC is a national charity, and we are a strong, independent and effective voice for all eight million kids in Canada. I'm so pleased to be joined by Mégane Jacques, the chair of CFC's youth advisory council and a member of young Canadians' parliament. Mégane is also a recipient of the inspiring youth award from Canada's Pandemic Heroes for mental health.
As a national charity that engages children and youth, we publish research, raise awareness and mobilize action. We can speak about the mental health crisis facing girls and young women in Canada and also about the innovative and evidence-based solutions that are needed. We do so through an intersectional lens focused on the inequitable impacts of mental health on girls who are racialized; first nations, Métis and Inuit youth; 2SLGBTQIA+ and girls with disabilities.
I also speak as a woman who has experienced poor mental health as a girl and throughout my life, as a parent of a child who has experienced poor mental health, and as someone who has witnessed this crisis unfolding in the homes of families across the country. Our aim is to share our personal perspectives, together with the evidence gathered through CFC's years of experience doing research, youth engagement, policy influence and engagement with the Canadian public. We bring a unique perspective on the challenges at hand.
In April 2021, at the height of the pandemic, when many schools remained closed, CFC joined with children's hospitals across the country in declaring #codePINK. It's a term used for pediatric emergencies. We called on federal and provincial governments for an emergency response. There was overwhelming evidence that children and youth, and girls in particular, were facing threats to their survival. Rates of suicide, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance-use disorders and self-harm were alarmingly high.
This #codePINK unleashed a tidal wave. We were flooded by calls, emails and messages from girls and youth, parents, teachers and grandparents across the country who were experiencing this crisis in their homes and who joined us in calling on governments to take action.
Yet, here we are over a year later, and fundamentally nothing has changed for the better. New budget commitments have been announced and promises have been made, but the reality for girls and for young women, and for kids and youth more broadly, remains the same; #codePINK remains in effect.
In our latest “Raising Canada” report on the top 10 threats to children, poor mental health is the number two threat. The data for the top 10 threats is examined through the lens of equity, diversity and inclusion, and we can share with you ample evidence that shows that the threats to children, and to girls in particular, are growing. Many of the top 10 threats, such as poverty, child abuse, systemic racism, discrimination, bullying and climate change, are known as adverse childhood experiences that directly impact the mental health of girls and young women.
From coast to coast to coast, many girls do not make it to their 18th birthday. Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death for children and youth between the ages of 10 and 18. These devastating statistics are too alarming to be ignored. Every girl, and in fact every child, deserves the right to survive and thrive.
We urge this committee to consider the need for prevention and intervention for the mental health of girls from the earliest days of life. Half of all cases of mental health issues begin by age 14, and three-quarters by the age of 24. We urge you to work with a sense of urgency. Every day, every hour, every minute matters in the life of a girl. We urge you to work with girls and young women in defining the problems and the solutions. They have a right to be heard.
On that note, I cede the floor to Mégane to share her perspective.
Thank you, honourable members, for your commitment to address the mental health of girls. I'm hopeful that more deliberate action will be taken in the very near future.