Mr. Speaker, the critical issues raised in today's NDP motion on disability tax credits are compounded for Canadians facing mental health disabilities. Five of the ten leading causes of disability worldwide are rooted in mental illness. Yet sufferers cannot access tax relief because the government does not recognize the unique nature of their illnesses.
The Canadian Mental Health Association has asked the government to improve the fairness of this credit, but to no avail. The government's response to mental illness, a problem affecting 20% of Canadians, has been abysmal. It has recently cut back its paltry mental health budget.
The Auditor General last month reprimanded the government for its lack of surveillance of mental health. We do not even know how severe the problem is or what is being done about it across the country.
We desperately need a national strategy for mental health in Canada, one that includes research, an information base, public education and policy infrastructure. We need the government to do that, to withdraw its meanspirited disability tax credit changes and to stop ditching its responsibilities for the most vulnerable in our society.