Status of Women Committee on Nov. 14th, 2022

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

I call time out as the chair. The time goes to the questioner.

Marci, I will give you time to respond. This is a really important topic, and I really appreciate everything on this.

Michelle, carry on.

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

It is tough. I don't want to push this as if you don't care, because I can't stress enough that I know you do, but things are worse.

I guess the number one thing I would say to you is that to call it a dental benefit that you are shipping out to parents.... Is there going to be audit or any accountability? A dentist asked me this weekend how you will show that people are spending that cheque on dental care.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Ms. Ien, I will give you 25 seconds to respond to everything there because your time is up.

Go ahead.

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

It's hard to respond to everything in 25 seconds, but how about I do this? We are talking about systems here, and you don't break them down overnight. The reason I ran was to be part of a system that I could help change, and that is work on a daily basis. It's listening to the people who are living this life.

You know what, Michelle? If you put an intersectional lens on everything that you're talking about, Black and indigenous kids and families, 2SLGBTQI+ people and their families and communities, it's all exacerbated, and we know that, but day to day we do the work.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you very much, Minister.

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Now we'll go to our last part and four minutes with Marc Serré.

Marc, you have the floor.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for all the work you've done and for all of the immense work that is needed to move forward.

If we're looking at specific results, specific actions, I will follow up on a question asked earlier by my colleague Jenna Sudds. You made the announcement last summer related to the crisis line responding to gender-based violence across Canada. I just want to give you an opportunity here specifically to update the committee on the signed bilateral agreement that was done with each of the provinces—congratulations on that hard work with the provinces—to see how this bilateral agreement will help more women at risk get the help that they desperately need.

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Thank you very much.

I so appreciate this question.

In Nova Scotia last week, $700,000 is what we put forward for the crisis lines there and, of course, the province is doing its share with my provincial counterpart, Minister MacFarlane. The most important thing about that announcement, though, was hearing from people on the ground, hearing from those who work the lines and are there when people call in.

One such person was Anna. What Anna said to me after the press conference was that what this means is that somebody is there on the other end of the line 24 hours a day. She could not stress that enough, because there weren't enough people: There weren't enough people in place for rural calls. What they found was that a lot of these calls were coming in the middle of the night when they didn't necessarily have staff there—trauma-informed staff—and this funding will help with that.

The other part of this, Marc, is that 8% of the people calling in to these lines are now men and young men. Here's what they're saying: “I am not feeling well. I think I might hurt my partner. I think I might hurt somebody. I need help.” They're calling in to ask for help. This is how important crisis lines are, not just for young women and girls, but for men and boys as well. We're seeing the numbers, and already we're seeing the difference that this is going to make.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you very much, Minister.

During the pandemic, the federal government allocated funds to the Horizon Women's Centre, in Sturgeon Falls, in my riding. Very concerned about these issues, the province gave the centre an equivalent amount of funding. The federal government was thus a leader in supporting agencies, and rallying the provinces for assistance and support.

Can you describe the roles that the provinces and the federal government must play to ensure that the national action plan to end gender-based violence will be implemented as quickly as possible?

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Marci, you have about 30 seconds. Go ahead.

[Marci Ien, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Thank you so much, Madam Chair.

Yes, the negotiations are about to take place. As I mentioned before, Marc, with regard to the action plan, from a federal perspective the floor is $2 million for provinces, and the floor is $4 million, at least $4 million, for territories. Again, it's about coming together—80% of these recommendations were made by provinces and territories—to the table and understanding that each province and territory is unique and bringing that to the table.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you so much.

We have now wrapped up our first hour. On behalf of the committee, Minister Ien, I really would like to thank you very much for coming, and say a special thank you to Ms. Smylie and Ms. McRae for being here as well.

We're going to suspend for just seconds. Minister Bennett is about to join us. We'll suspend for about a minute if you want to grab something and come back to your seats.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

I would like to call this meeting back to order. Thank you so much.

On our second panel today, I would like to welcome the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions; from the Department of Health, Heather Jeffrey, associate deputy minister, and Eric Bélair, associate assistant deputy minister, strategic policy branch; and, from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Candice St-Aubin, vice-president, health promotion and chronic disease prevention branch.

We'll start off our first five minutes with Minister Bennett.

Minister Bennett, you have the floor.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions]

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.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Absolutely. Thank you so much, Minister.

We're now going to start our six-minute rounds.

I'm going to pass the floor over to Michelle Ferreri for the first six minutes.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Minister, for being here. I appreciate your time.

Minister, the fall economic statement came out, and I'm wondering how you feel about the fact that the term “mental health” was mentioned only three times.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

As you know, the fall economic statement is an update on changes that are happening. I think our commitment to mental health and substance use has been unwavering. It's what we do every day—now, as a separate minister for mental health and addiction.

I think there's an exciting change, not only in what we're doing but in how we're going about it, in that partnership with provinces and territories, municipalities, and especially in listening to those with lived and living experience and the people on the front line of this parallel epidemic.

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

It's good to hear you say that the Liberals have unwavering support. I guess the question would be whether you're okay with it being mentioned three times. The Liberal commitment, as you know.... I'll read this for you:

Commit to permanent, ongoing funding for mental health services under the Canada Mental Health Transfer, with an initial investment of $4.5 billion over 5 years. Including the existing bilateral agreement on mental health services signed in 2017, this would bring federal support for mental health services to $2.5 billion per year by 2025-26. This is in addition to further investments we will make to support First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities with better access to trauma and mental health services.

Can you give everyone at this committee an update on where that $4.5 billion is?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

As I said in my remarks, the $5 billion is there for 2017-27. That means there is an additional $600 million going to provinces and territories every year.

We are now working with provinces and territories to build that action plan. We will make sure that the data is there and that the results will be there as we invest the next $4.5 billion. That's the work we're doing on national standards. It's the exciting work that's happening on integrated youth services—

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

Sorry, Minister, but I have to be quick, because we only have so much time.

To clarify, the election promise of the $4.5 billion is gone. It's not off the table; you're saying it's from 2017. So that 2021 election promise of $4.5 billion doesn't exist.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

It exists, absolutely. The $5 billion was 2017-27, and now there is the work being done to make sure that $4.5 billion will be distributed to provinces and territories within an action plan that will be part of the mental health transfer.

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

Could you table what that action plan is, or when they're going to see it?

We've seen a lot of witnesses in this committee, and multiple committees, quite frankly, who have been waiting with bated breath. We heard, even from your colleague prior, about helping and supporting frontline workers who are burnt out, and that this money you've promised is a matter of life and death.

Where is that action plan?

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, Toronto—St. Paul's, ON]

The action plan is about transformation. It's about changing the way we've done things. It is about putting mental health as a full and equal part of our most cherished social service.

In the changes that took place in cost containment, when social workers and occupational therapists, psychologists, were moved out of hospitals, that moved into the private sector and the social services sector. We want this back inside.... It is taking that kind of work, listening to people on the front lines, to ensure that the $4.5 billion will be part of that change, as it has been with the integrated youth services.

This is so inspiring, Michelle. I hope everybody will get to see an IYS centre. Of course, Ontario and Quebec have been very much in the forefront, taking the lead from Foundry and Dr. Steven Mathias of British Columbia.

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

Foundry is absolutely an amazing place. I was able to go and visit it.