Thank you, Minister.
Unfortunately, people are dying. We're hearing this throughout the room over and over, and you're very aware, I'm certain, in your position as well. This is a crisis. We need to see funding being allocated to provinces and territories so that people can get the help they need.
This is an emergency, so I'm curious as to why we need to wait to allocate much-needed funding. I understand that this work needs to be done, but what are your thoughts on implementing the funding immediately so that people can get the help they need, and then continuing the work of better understanding? We saw this during the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, we got help to people—I shouldn't say “we”; the government got help to people, along with the work of the NDP, pushing for people to get that help—and that funding was distributed.
Why can we not see a similar model with regard to the mental health supports?