Mr. Speaker, the mental health crisis touches everyone in this place. It touches every single family in this country. We need a compassionate, coordinated response where help is ready when people are ready.
The Mental Health Commission of Canada puts the cost of mental illness at nearly $200 billion a year, or roughly 6% of our GDP.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates that ensuring mental health and addictions care under our universal public health care system would cost the federal government an average of $4.9 billion a year. Instead, what does the government do? The Liberals chose to provide $36 billion in business tax incentives over the next five years instead of addressing this crisis.
Nation building is not just about what we build; it is about the people we invest in. Mental health is health.
Do the Conservative leader and his party support our call for parity so Canadians can get the care they need? They should be getting care with their health card, not their credit card. People need help now. This is a national crisis.