Debates of Oct. 20th, 2022

Mental Health

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Chair, the member for Battle River—Crowfoot could attest that it is very rare that we get along or find common ground on issues, but this is one tonight on which I really do appreciate his speech. It was excellent. He talked about a sense of urgency. He shared his personal story and his vulnerability. It was very generous.

We have an issue that we are seeing around this House, which is the need to deal with the patchwork of the provinces that deliver health and the urgency of the need to get resources out to them. We saw that urgency when it came to child care, but the government has not demonstrated that here, on this issue.

Margaret Eaton, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association, stated that even if the immediate impacts of COVID-19 are subsiding, the mental health effects persist and will likely continue for years to come. The community mental health and addictions sector cannot meet these growing needs with the current patchwork funding and disjointed service delivery model. It is time to overhaul our mental health system.

I cannot say enough about how much—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I am sorry, I do have to allow for one more brief question after this. I want to allow the member to respond to the comments.

The hon. member for Battle River—Crowfoot.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Madam Chair, often we do disagree on things, policy-related and whatnot. However, I am so pleased that there is common agreement.

We may differ a little on what that action looks like, but I am so pleased that in this House, and across the country, we could find significant agreement with our provincial counterparts to ensure that we simply get to work.

With respect to the consequences of COVID, although we are seeing the pandemic-related measures subside, the consequences of the mental health side of things are going to be long felt. That certainly has to be addressed when developing both the frameworks surrounding the health transfer and other related areas of policy regarding mental health in Canada.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Chair, earlier I mentioned that I did not think we had enough resources all across the country, but particularly in rural areas. I know my colleague comes from a rural area in Alberta.

I wonder if he could expand on that as well.

[Damien Kurek, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Madam Chair, absolutely. We need to ensure that rural has equitable and full access to these services. That is part of the reason I was so excited.

I represent about 64 self-governing municipalities in rural Alberta. The majority of them passed motions at their village councils, saying that a 988, although in many cases in their debate and whatnot it was said that it would not be a solution, was such an important tool to ensure that there was a consolidation of services. It made sure that especially in rural areas, where they could be an hour or two from a hospital or three or four hours from a police call, those resources are accessible by simply pressing three buttons on a phone. Among many other things, that was an important part.

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Chair, I am happy to be here today, and I am honoured to share my time with the member for Milton.

I am honoured to rise today and speak in the take-note debate brought forward by my NDP colleague and member of Parliament for Courtenay—Alberni around the mental health crisis that is having a ripple effect on Canadians across the country. I am inspired by the tremendous work, dedication and heart that my colleague shows every day in his work to address the mental health and toxic substance emergency we are currently facing. I am also proud to see all parties coming together to debate this important issue.

We know that 50% of Canadians experience a mental illness by the age of 40. However, compounding and interconnected with the mental health crisis is the climate crisis. Just this week in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith, there was another air quality warning, with smoke blanketing our beautiful island. It is currently nearing late October, a time when residents of Vancouver Island are normally outfitted in their favourite rain jackets and rain boots, but instead the grass is dry and the sky is smoky with the unusually warm and dry weather conditions being experienced by much of the province of British Columbia, and this has been happening for weeks.

Extreme and unseasonable weather in B.C. and across the country continue to be more and more common. These catastrophic weather events, including flooding, fires and droughts, do not only impact our physical health, damage our homes and threaten food crops, but they impact our mental health.

As expected, the prevalence of climate anxiety continues to rise. Climate anxiety was never more evident than in my work directly with children and youth in my riding of Nanaimo—Ladysmith. As the effects of the climate crisis unfold, the anxiety that follows continues to rise. I hear loud and clear from youth in Nanaimo—Ladysmith public schools, for example, that they are worried about their future and are demanding all levels of government to step up and make the changes and decisions necessary to save our planet and their future. Instead, these youth watch as the government purchases pipelines and billions of dollars of subsidies are handed to big oil and gas, which further exacerbates the climate crisis.

Youth in my riding are sharing with me that they are feeling hopeless that those who are in positions who can make a difference today to ensure a future for tomorrow are choosing to continue on with the same patterns of behaviour that have resulted in the climate crisis we are experiencing today. They are hopeless that the leaders today are choosing profit over the health of the planet. Hopelessness is a significant indicator of suicidality. These youth deserve better. These youth deserve hope.

As the climate crisis continues to impact us all, the health and well-being of Canadians will continue to be impacted. Instead of prevention, health care workers are left to respond to often preventable and complex health conditions within an overwhelmed health care system. While Canadians continue to feel the impacts of COVID-19, more and more Canadians are experiencing mental illness, and substance use is steadily on the incline.

The toxic substance crisis continues to tragically take the lives of loved ones. On average in B.C., six or more people die a day. Again, that is six people a day. We are losing loved ones at a rate like never seen before in this toxic substance crisis. These are deaths that could have been prevented if the recommendations of health experts were being followed, recommendations such as access to harm reduction supports, affordable and accessible mental health care, decriminalization of substances and on-demand treatment, to name just a few. Canadians so desperately need to see leadership at the federal level to give much-needed hope that we are in fact a country that takes care of one another.

It bears mentioning once again what Margaret Eaton from the Canadian Mental Health Association said. She said:

Even if the immediate impacts of COVID-19 are subsiding, the...mental health and addiction sector cannot meet these growing needs with the current patchwork funding and disjointed service delivery model. It's time to overhaul our mental health system.

This current patchwork system will continue to be seen in our provinces and territories until we see federal leadership through the commitments made by this government to provide the mental health funding required.

We know that positive mental health and well-being allows us to fully enjoy life, better cope with stress and bounce back from setbacks. Canadians need this government to follow through with their election platform to create a permanent mental health transfer to the provinces and territories to expand and improve mental health care. The commitment of $4.5 billion over five years would save lives and make a positive impact on the health and well-being of Canadians. Let us give Canadians hope.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport]

Madam Chair, I am glad my colleague from Nanaimo—Ladysmith focused on children tonight. It is an important subject of conversation. Unfortunately, children are often forgotten in society. I am also glad she connected the climate crisis to kids and their mental health. My question is about children.

We all know that kids spend a little too much time on their phones. I spend too much time on my phone too. One way that we can spend time on our phones and check in with ourselves is to use the PocketWell app. I used the PocketWell app this year and it has helped me.

Has she had any experience with the PocketWell app? Has she had a chance to talk to any of her constituents who have?

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Chair, I was trying to understand what it was exactly that the member was asking. I am not sure if that is an app, a program or something that can be used on our phones.

To answer based on the information I have, absolutely, mental health concerns with children are on the rise. Technology use is definitely a component in that. There are benefits to technology that can be used, like for education purposes. There are ways to stay connected through technology. It is definitely a factor that is being looked at by educators and support workers in the community. If we had the health care transfer put into place in the provinces and territories, that could be further looked into in ensuring that youth and children are getting the support that they need to stay at their healthiest.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Chair, I have a question that maybe sums up why we should find the money for the $4.5-billion mental health transfer. Poor mental health costs Canada about $50 billion a year. We are talking about not even a tenth of what it costs us in lost quality of life, work and other areas that take people away from things because of mental health situations. Could the member expand on that?

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Chair, that is such an important point, which I completely agree with. When individuals do not get the mental health supports they need, it does not just impact those individuals, but it also impacts us as a whole, as well as their loved ones and our communities. It costs us all money. There are ripple effects and costs associated with us not living to our full and healthiest capacity.

We spend a lot of time right now, in light of the pandemic, reacting to mental illness, rather than putting in place the prevention that can actually save us money, if we want to look at the economic benefits. My hope is that with these conversations today, we can come together and make sure that Canadians have access to the supports they need.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Chair, I cannot thank my colleague enough for her speech, but also for her work on the ground in the mental health sector and in addictions.

She knows too well that non-profits are literally surviving on breadcrumbs. The government is delaying the transfer and is worried about getting everything right, but there are 67 national organizations that are saying they need resources as they are surviving on breadcrumbs. Would my colleague describe what those resources could do for those organizations on the front lines that are doing the hard work and how quickly they could deploy resources to support people?

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Chair, my background prior to becoming a member of Parliament was in mental health and addictions, and also around many of the symptoms of poverty. It inspired me to want to get involved in federal politics.

On the ground, we see the trickle effect of the federal government underfunding provinces and territories, which then seeps into municipalities and local school boards. When we do not have the federal leadership at the top or we do not have funding provided at the top, it impacts those who are trying their very best to provide supports to those who need it on the ground.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Sport]

Madam Chair, it is an honour to rise in the House today to take part in this debate on such an important issue, which is the topic of how we can collectively improve the mental health of Canadians. As we take part in today's discussion, I want to recognize we share a common commitment in this place to address this serious challenge together. Indeed, we all ran on a commitment to our neighbours, and I am encouraged tonight. This has not been a political evening. This has not been a partisan evening. This has been an evening where members came to share personal stories, personal concerns, priorities from their communities and messages from those who they have heard suffering.

Before I start, I want to acknowledge the leadership in the House from colleagues from different parties. I would like to acknowledge my friend and colleague, the member for Cariboo—Prince George, for his leadership on suicide prevention and on the three-digit hotline. We probably would not be this far along if it were not for that member's work, and I want to thank him for it. I heard him on CBC the other day. It was nice to hear his voice when I was in my car commuting.

In addition to the member for Cariboo—Prince George, I want to acknowledge my friend from Courtenay—Alberni. His leadership on the opioid epidemic and toxic substance emergencies across this country has been remarkable and inspiring, and I want to thank him for that leadership.

I would also like to focus my energy a bit tonight on some local leadership in Milton. I was filming a video during the last campaign on a bridge in a park in Milton. It was a beautiful place. I was talking about important investments we plan to make in mental health. Dr. Nathan Pillai from Bayridge Kids was within earshot, and he came to talk to me afterward. He said that he had heard me talking about mental health and told me he was a mental health worker. He then asked if he could help. We exchanged a couple of emails afterward, but another conversation is overdue, so I expect to hear from Dr. Pillai sometime soon.

Angelo Posteraro, Rod McLachlan and their group of amazing volunteers for the Play On! ball hockey tournament raise money for the Reach Out Centre For Kids every year, and it is an exciting tournament I love to engage with because it raises money for a really important issue.

I also want to acknowledge Michael Burns and everyone at Re:soul, which is a drop-in centre in Milton. They do extraordinary work supporting kids.

As I have said on other issues, I do not think our country should or can rely on charity for basic services we are all in agreement are essential. Many of the leaders I mentioned are engaged in fundraising activities, and many of our colleagues here are too, but we should not be relying on charity for services we all know are essential.

We have been working hard to provide people in Canada with supports that are free and available whenever and wherever they are in Canada. One of those was that in 2020, in response to the pandemic, we launched the Wellness Together Canada portal to provide Canadians with access to those free 24-7 resources and supports, including counselling, on the convenience of one's telephone. The companion app, PocketWell, connects seamlessly to the portal and provides another way to help Canadians access online mental health resources. It has been a game-changer for me personally.

This year, I turned 40. I have heard that prevention is treatment. I did not know how I was going to feel when I turned 40, but my life has gone through some changes recently. I used to be focused on personal endeavours, personal fitness and going as fast as I could in my little boat. I am here in a much more serious capacity, in my view, supporting my neighbours and being their voice here in Ottawa. It has been challenging at times. This job is tough. Lots of jobs are tough. Lots of Canadians are struggling for lots of reasons.

That little app helps me check in every once in a while and reminds me what I need to do. It reminds me I have some needs. I need to exercise. I need to listen to music. I need to make sure my nutrition is good, and I need to make sure I am hydrated. Those things make my mental health a lot better. We do not need to be suffering to check in with ourselves. We owe it to ourselves to check in on our mental health and the mental health of those we love.

I would like to focus on kids. School has seen a massive disruption over the last couple of years, and we are finally getting back to normal. That is why I was so thrilled to meet with Children First today. I met with Jamie, Meghan and Josephine. They talked to me about their struggles over the past couple of years with anxiety, eating disorders, depression and their sense of fitting in and belonging when they went back to school.

Jamie, Meghan and Josephine are identified as gifted. They are intellectuals, and they are leaders. They are to be commended for coming forward to talk about these important issues on behalf of all of their classmates.

Our government remains fully committed to investing a further $4.5 billion over five years for the new Canada mental health transfer. However, we know we have a lot more to do.

We can improve. We will save lives. We need to work together on a holistic approach that addresses all aspects of mental health, not just the symptoms. Prevention is treatment, and I am so encouraged tonight by the collaboration evident in this House.

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Madam Chair, I sure am proud seeing everybody here debating so late into the night and for everything we have shared today.

I am wondering if the member can share if he believes in the importance of having mental health and physical health parity. We know that our bodies and our mental health are interconnected in so many ways. If so, how can he help us move forward and reach that parity within our provinces and territories?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Madam Chair, the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith knows exactly what I love to talk about in this House, and that is the power of physical activity, primarily for kids.

I am a kinesiologist. I was an athlete, and one of the things that is missing from my life, as much as it used to be, is physical activity every single day. When I talk to kids, like Josephine, Meghan and Jamie today, they talk to me about how a bit of activity, exercise or sports, and it does not have to be competitive, in fact, it should not be at first, just improves their lives.

It improves their mental health, their physical health and their sense of community at school, and it is absolutely essential. If there are any school board trustees, people running for those positions or ministers of education out there, daily physical activity in schools ought to be essential. Physical literacy is just as important as numeracy and reading and writing. It is a life skill that is so ingrained in our physiology and our biology that it should be a necessity.

People often ask athletes if it is all mental or all physical. It cannot be one without the other. Our brains are connected to our bodies, and there is a symbiotic relationship. We have to take care of the whole organism.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Chair, I am going to take our hon. colleague's last comments a bit further. I am where I am today because of the volunteers, the sports I was in and the cadet program I was in, which essentially provided me an outlet and a safe place from the dysfunction I was growing up in. The reason I am not on the street, in a gang, in prison or dead is due to this: the importance of these volunteers and the importance of these organizations. Perhaps maybe what we should also be doing as part of this is focusing some of the funds on these minor programs that provide such great and important services to Canadians far and wide and even Canadians who are marginalized.

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Madam Chair, the member is once again after my own heart.

I am proud to stand up and talk about the community sport for all program, which I was fortunate enough to work on with support from our caucus. The community sport for all program has invested $80 million, half of it so far and $40 million next year hopefully, in community sport programs across the country focused on disadvantaged youth, youth who are vulnerable and youth who do not have access.

There are three main categories of barriers to access to physical activity for Canadians. The first is environmental. It is a cold country, there is climate change and we are spread out, so it could be a lack of infrastructure or whatever and there are a lot of reasons environmental barriers exist. There are financial ones, as sports and physical activity are expensive and out of reach for too many families. Third, there are socio-cognitive and cultural barriers, where people just do not feel like they belong, and that is a tragic thing.

We need to change hearts and minds. We need to create inclusive spaces. We need to encourage diversity in sports. Physical activity programs have to be made accessible for people with a disability, people from minorities, newcomers, people who feel afraid and people who feel like they do not belong. Sport is absolutely essential.

[Sherry Romanado, Liberal, Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne, QC]

Madam Chair, my colleague touched on youth. He mentioned he turned 40, and I am eight years older than him. Thank God, I did not have social media when I was a kid growing up. Would he like to elaborate on the impact of social media, cyberbullying and so on, in terms of children's mental health?

[Adam van Koeverden, Liberal, Milton, ON]

Madam Chair, I know we are not supposed to use props, but these greasy rectangles of glass in our pockets are devastating for children. They distract them. They keep them on those things, and they keep them from developing that physical literacy I was talking about. They can be an encouraging way to keep in touch with their friends and make sure their parents keep track of them, but we have to encourage technology literacy as well, and that means limiting access to these things and some of the impacts that social media has on their psyches.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, I will be sharing my time with the member for Vancouver East.

As parliamentarians, we must recognize indigenous-led mental health services. Colonial mental health services are not having the same effect for Nunavummiut as they may for other Canadians. Since time immemorial, first nations, Métis and Inuit have used their own practices to support each other. Our mental wellness practices as indigenous people are valuable but need more recognition.

In Nunavut, community members do not have the specific spaces that provide secure and confidential mental health services the same way certified professional mental health providers do. The infrastructure may be there but unavailable to indigenous providers. If a psychologist were to travel to a community, they would leave people on a waiting list with little to no support. Practices that work for southern communities cannot be the only option for indigenous peoples.

There are indigenous-led services that are making a huge difference with the people they help. An Inuit mental health project funded by the Mandala Institute for Holistic Mental Health is beginning to offer Inuit-led services. This institute has a huge impact on Inuit across Canada. Inuit elders, activists and advocates have long been calling for Inuit-specific mental health training programs. These programs need to be available to Inuit across Canada. Decolonized mental health programs are needed to address mental health crises that are leading to increased depression, addiction and suicide rates.

The Mandala mental health funded project is looking into piloting a heal the healer program. This program would train Inuit to support their communities with expertise in mental health. Projects like these need to be funded. There need to be financial resources dedicated for indigenous-led mental health practices. These services need to be recognized by the government to make sure the burden is not on Inuit. We cannot continue to ask indigenous community members to volunteer their time and space because the government does not recognize their expertise. The government has allocated $600 million for innovative mental health care for Canadians since the start of the pandemic. There must also be a focus on providing funding for indigenous traditional health practices.

My communities are not seeing the support and training they need to support themselves. This is not acceptable in this time of reconciliation. We as parliamentarians need to demand more from the government and all future governments. We appreciate kind words, but significant investments for indigenous-led mental health services are urgently needed.

As parliamentarians, we must stop placing the burden on Inuit and indigenous peoples who do not have the housing, who live in poverty and who lack the infrastructure to do the work of the government. In the meantime, first nations, Métis and Inuit can access the Hope for Wellness help line at 1-855-242-3310. I have used it myself, and I will be forever grateful for receiving counselling in Inuktitut from Hope for Wellness.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Chair, I want to go back to one of the things that the parliamentary secretary for health just indicated, which is the importance of nutrition with regard to mental health activities. These numbers are from the Canadian Mental Health Association. It says that Canada lags behind some other countries because it spends only about 5% to 7% of its overall health care budget on mental health, whereas some of our OECD colleagues, like France, New Zealand and the Netherlands, spend 10% to 13%.

I wonder if the hon. member could just elaborate on her thoughts with regard to the importance of nutrition, given the cost of nutrition in her home region.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, I have asked several times in the House about the nutrition north program, which is a federally funded program that is subsidizing for-profit companies, rather than helping people in poverty. Because of the subsidy that is being given to for-profit companies, people who are in poverty are suffering and are continuing to live in mental health conditions that they should not have to.

I really hope that we can do better to make sure that especially Arctic communities in my riding are able to have access to healthy, affordable and nutritious food.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Madam Chair, I cannot thank my colleague enough for her work around mental health, especially for Inuit, first nations and Métis people. She talked about reconciliation. In the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to action number 21, it is explicit. It states:

We call upon the federal government to provide sustainable funding for existing and new Aboriginal healing centres to address the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual harms caused by residential schools, and to ensure that the funding of healing centres in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories is a priority.

Does my colleague believe there will be true reconciliation until this call to action is actually implemented and fulfilled?

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank my colleague for all the work that he does in the area of mental health, as well.

Reconciliation is going to be a very long journey because of the deep impacts that colonialism continues to have. Definitely, better funding, healing centres and healing programs will take that step forward quite a bit, but that will not be sufficient. There are too many investments and too many promises that have been broken, too many people who live in overcrowded housing situations and too many people who live in mouldy old housing units.

I think that making sure there is a focus on those healing centres would definitely take that step forward, but it will not be enough.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Madam Chair, I want to offer our colleague another opportunity.

Today in question period she brought up a tragic case of a young mother who was pregnant, I believe, and could not find housing in her community. Sadly, this young mother died by suicide.

We must consider the importance of housing, the importance of clean water and the importance of, as my colleague said, nutrition in our rural and remote communities. Sadly, I think those are such high contributors to the suicide epidemics that we see in our first nations communities and our rural and remote communities.

I just want to offer my colleague another opportunity to bring this forward in tonight's debate.