Thank you, Madam Chair.
I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are on the unceded, traditional territory of the Algonquin people, who have been stewards of this land and water since time immemorial.
I am pleased to be here today to speak to this truly timely study examining the factors contributing to mental health of young women and girls.
Women and girls are significantly more likely to report low life satisfaction and have more problematic social media use, and are hospitalized for anxiety, depression and eating disorders more often, when compared with their male peers.
It was over 70 years ago that Canadian war vet and psychiatrist, Dr. Brock Chisholm, the first director general of the WHO—and I heard a really neat interview with him this weekend—stated that “without mental health there can be no true physical health”.
I think that we are now really facing a problem with stigma, which has resulted in way too many people struggling with mental health alone. However, I do think there's hope because I think COVID has allowed more of us to admit when we're struggling, to admit, maybe, to a little bit more substance use than usual, and to talk about our own mental health. That is something that helps reduce the stigma because stigma is such a serious barrier to care. As you've heard in these hearings, the care has to be there when people need it, and sadly, during this time when so many more people, Canadians, have needed support, that support was all too often not included in our cherished publicly funded health care system.
Since 2015, we have made historic investments to support mental health: the $5 billion to the provinces and territories to increase the availability of mental health; another $600 million for distinctions-based mental health and wellness for indigenous people; $270 million for the Wellness Together portal; $45 million to develop national standards; and then many other targeted investments in substance use and mental health promotion innovation. The $5-billion investment through the provincial and territorial bilateral agreements is currently providing $600 million of additional funding until 2027.
We want you to know that we remain totally committed to investing an additional $4.5 billion through a Canadian mental health transfer and that we are working with the Standards Council of Canada and our provincial and territorial partners to develop national standards for evidence-based mental health and addiction services in the priority areas identified with our provincial and territorial colleagues. We are particularly encouraged by the incredible early progress on national standards for integrated-use services.
Last week, at the FPT health ministers' meeting, we visited Foundry in Vancouver, Foundry Vancouver-Granville, which started the IYS movement in Canada. I just have to say that I had the privilege of meeting a young woman, a refugee from Saudi Arabia, who has found her confidence, a second family, and all of the social and mental health supports to positively transform her outlook on her path forward as a lesbian. That is the transformational power of integrated-use services.
It was then wonderful the next day, Wednesday, to join representatives from every single province and territory, as the IYS movement is now growing to serve young people up to the age of 25 with individual, multidisciplinary, evidence-based wraparound services that are trauma-informed, culturally safe, and designed for and by young people coast to coast to coast.
I'm also pleased to say that the online portal, Wellness Together Canada, linked with Kids Help Phone and its companion app, PocketWell, has assisted thousands of young Canadians in getting the help they need, not just directly but also as a stepping stone to receiving the resources and advice about where they can achieve more specialized care.
We welcome, of course, the CRTC's decision approving the new 988 three-digit suicide prevention line, and we are working to ensure that it has the capacity for a successful launch next fall. We want all of you to know that you can help. We are not waiting for the help; it's at 1-833-456-4566. We want to demonstrate to Canadians that we share their concerns. We've been listening to those who have lived and living experiences, the experts, the people on the front line, but we need the disaggregated data to show that we are leaving no one behind.
I look forward to expanding on my brief remarks through your thoughtful questions.