Mr. Speaker, as the Mental Health Commission of Canada holds its regional round table in Ottawa today, providing local stakeholders with an opportunity to respond to its draft document, “Toward Recovery and Well-being—A Framework for a Mental Health Strategy for Canada”, I remind the House that good health is not possible without good mental health.
Each year, one in five Canadians will encounter mental health issues. Consequently, virtually every family in this country will be directly impacted by mental illness.
Support for mental health is especially pertinent during this economic crisis as Canadian families struggle to pay the bills and cope with job losses.
For far too long, stigma has kept mental health issues off the public agenda. Canada needs a system that puts people living with mental illness at its centre, with a clear focus on their ability to recover.
The Mental Health Commission has a mandate to ensure that mental health issues stay out of the shadows forever and to reduce the stigma of mental illness. We have to do our part too.