Madam Chair, I am thankful for the opportunity to speak about a vital issue, to put it mildly. I am glad that the House is taking up the issue of mental health tonight. I have enjoyed listening to the reflections of all members.
I should tell you at the outset that I am splitting my time with the member for Don Valley East.
Where I want to start is on the issue of stigma. I think it is fair to say that, as we discuss this tonight, I hope it adds to the lifting of stigma in some small way. Perhaps it could, depending on where things go. However, it is quite fair to say that over the years Canadians, through their discussions, openness and honesty, have been helping to lift the stigma in very significant ways. What does that mean for us in this House as parliamentarians? I think that very real phenomenon we have seen in Canadian society, where people are much more comfortable speaking about mental health and the particular challenges they face, has direct implications for us in politics.
It is often said, and it is a truism, whether it is politics or specifically government, that the first obligation of government is to ensure the security of its citizens. With the lifting of stigma I think we take that insight and expand it to understand that mental health needs to be part of that conversation and that focus as well, because security, if it is to be ensured, must include not just the physical security of individuals but also their mental health. That is where I think government has a fundamental role to play.
We have a short time to engage tonight. Usually, we have more than the five minutes that is allotted, but it is a take-note debate so I will keep my comments centred on one particular group that I think deserves a great deal of attention and that is youth. Young people in particular faced with poverty struggle with mental health issues. I do not think we can say that poverty in and of itself is the cause of mental health challenges faced by young people, but certainly it is a key factor. Added to that of course is the trauma that so many young people endure. When those two forces come together, the result is very real mental health challenges.
I have mentioned already the importance of government, but community organizations play a fundamental role because they are on the ground and have wonderful staff members. I will speak about two organizations in London that I have a great deal of respect for, who have the expertise to engage youth and help them transform to something better.
Over the years, I have had the chance to get to know the Youth Opportunities Unlimited organization in London. It is led by a wonderful leader, Steve Cordes, in London. This is someone who has devoted his life to helping young people. He has been the executive director for many years, but engaged and involved with YOU, Youth Opportunities Unlimited, since the early 1980s. The organization, through its work, through the work of the board and its staff, has focused on housing services. It has built a wonderful youth shelter. I was thrilled to see federal funding secured for that. It also provides job training, which the federal government assists to fund as well.
There is another great organization, the Boys and Girls Club, in London. Its CEO, Chris Harvey, deserves enormous credit as well. It runs sports programs for kids. It runs art programs for kids, particularly drama, the visual arts and music as well. Importantly, it runs self-esteem programming. One of the programs that stands out in that particular category is the work it has done to help youth understand the importance of body image and the way that modern media helps to shape those notions. It is a very sad thing, to put it mildly, that the self-esteem of young people is so often negatively impacted by the images they see particularly on television, but these days it is online. Anything to counter those negative images is something that I think can further contribute positively to mental health. Organizations that take up that challenge I think need to be applauded, so I wanted to put that on the record tonight. There are many other organizations I could have talked about in London. There is such a great community there, but YOU and the Boys and Girls Club do outstanding work.
I am thankful for the opportunity to engage. I look forward to further reflections from colleagues tonight. It is a pleasure truly to listen and participate on such a key issue.