Status of Women Committee on Oct. 17th, 2022

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you so much.

We're now going to change it up a bit because I'm going to provide an extra 90 seconds to the Bloc and the NDP and then come back for two minutes and two minutes. Then we'll be done.

Andréanne, you have the floor for 90 seconds, a minute and a half.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Time is running out very quickly, but I'd like to come back to online hate and misinformation.

As I was saying, I just came from an international meeting where I was going to talk about equality in parliaments and the importance of improving the representation of women. As an elected official, I had decided to bring my young daughter and post on Facebook my conviction that it is possible to be a mother in politics. However, my Facebook status received comments that went so far as to tell me that bringing my daughter was just as criminal as the actions of some of the protesters, and that the location wasn't appropriate for a child. These comments were horrible.

If we want to talk about mental health, we have to recognize that legislation to combat online hate is essential. There are only 30 seconds left. Could each person take 10 seconds to talk about the critical importance of this issue in 2022?

[Sarah Kennell]

I can start, Ms. Larouche.

I'm sorry that happened to you. As women around the room, as politicians, you've all experienced this deeply and personally.

My contribution to the conversation would be to address the root cause, which is a lack of comprehensive sexuality education and mental health literacy starting in elementary school. We need to address toxic masculinity and harmful gender stereotypes from the beginning.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you very much.

I'll now pass it over to Leah.

Leah, you have the floor.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Thank you so much.

I'd like to go back to prevention.

I know that child welfare was mentioned. In Manitoba, for example, we know that 90% of kids in care are indigenous. We have long-term historical examples like the sixties scoop, with impacts on identity and the sense of belonging. Child welfare is not the answer.

Why is prevention so important in terms of keeping families together as a way to support positive mental health in young women and girls?

[Dr. Tracie Afifi]

Thank you for the question.

Yes, I agree with you. It's easier to prevent a problem than it is to solve the many issues that happen after people experience adversity such as trauma and racism. If we can try to prevent those things from happening in the first place, then we won't be having as many mental health problems to deal with.

We need to invest in prevention from the very beginning. We need to be able to support families in order for them to understand how to raise children without violence, which includes not spanking their children. We need to provide support for parents in terms of dealing with their own mental health, so they can be good supports for their children. If it can't be a parent, as mentioned before, research has shown that a supportive caregiver in someone's life makes a really big difference. It doesn't have to be a parent. It can be someone else in the family or another adult.

Preventing problems before they occur is very important.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you so much.

We're now going into our final couple of questions.

Michelle, you have two minutes, and then Anita will have two minutes.

Go ahead, Michelle.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

We should have everything fixed by five o'clock today. It's fine. Two minutes is tons of time.

Thank you again.

Coming back to the point of this study of the factors contributing to the decrease of young women's mental health, I think we need to absolutely focus on that. I keep coming back to prevention being absolutely key, but at the same time we're not going to prevent those who are already halfway through that, so we almost have to have a two-pronged strategy.

I'm going to go back to Sarah, if that's okay.

If we are not taking care of these frontline workers and if we are not taking care of a mother who isn't aware of how to take care of her own mental health.... To me, that is the number one factor contributing to the success of a young child's mental health. It's the people around them, like the teachers, caregivers and coaches. If they are so exasperated by the stress of life or have never been taught the coping skills, what would the $4.5 billion do to help with that?

Where would you see the biggest improvements to help parents and caregivers help their children?

[Sarah Kennell]

I think when we invest in upstream interventions, in mental health promotion and mental illness prevention, we know the benefits are long-term. We know that supporting kids in school or post-secondary mental health first aid is all part of a continuum of supports we can provide that support people in achieving the best possible outcome from themselves.

I want to make the point that the investment on the table is not only money out, but money back in. When we invest in mental health and substance use health, it yields returns on the investment in relation to productivity, reduced acute care costs, reduced criminalization and reduced hospital stays.

[Michelle Ferreri, Conservative, Peterborough—Kawartha, ON]

I agree 100%.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you so much.

For the last two minutes, Anita, you have the floor.

[Anita Vandenbeld, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Thank you.

I saw you nodding when I asked the previous question about the mental health and addictions health care workers themselves. I will give the last minute for you to also answer that question.

[Sarah Kennell]

Thanks very much.

I would echo what my colleague, Mary Bartram, has said around a national mental health workforce strategy. We need to be looking now at the long term in terms of what supports need to be put in place to ensure that we're not only sustaining the workers we have right now—who are predominantly social workers in community—but also planning for the long term. Whether it's that transition to virtual care that is on the rise or group-based therapies, these are all new innovations that we're seeing emerge predominantly out of the pandemic.

What can we be doing from a salary perspective, from a workplace benefits perspective, from an institutional change perspective and on regulatory issues? What can we be doing holistically to ensure we're sustaining and then growing this workforce that's so critically needed?

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you so much.

On behalf of the committee, I would really like to thank all of the witnesses here today. We have a very important study to do, so all of the information that you're bringing forward is very much appreciated.

I would just remind committee members that we need to have those human trafficking names in by the 28th. For anything else you may need, just contact us.

Everything looks good. Do I have a motion to adjourn? Thank you.

Today's meeting is adjourned.