Finance committee  Thank you for the invitation to present today on behalf of the Canadian Psychological Association. CPA is the national association for the science, practice, and education of psychology in Canada. With almost 7,000 members and affiliates, we are Canada's largest national associ

Finance committee  Following Senator Kirby's report, when the Mental Health Commission came out with a national strategy for mental health, one of their key recommendations was that we do a better job at enhancing access to evidence-based service. Prevention and promotion, workplace mental health—t

Finance committee  I think it's still a work in progress. The Mental Health Commission released its strategy only in the spring or early summer. There's lots of work to be done to address it, particularly in the jurisdictions. As for figuring the solutions to that problem, we have a ways to go.

Finance committee  I'm glad you asked that question. As psychologists, we can tell you a lot about the research that shows what's effective for mental health problems. But we haven't done as great a job at telling you what it would cost to do a better job to address them. As an association, we have

Finance committee  That would be the hope. Our position is that you pay now or you pay later.

Finance committee  Psychologists have, by legislation, though it differs by province, the authority to diagnose and deliver care. If someone decides to seek the services of a psychologist outside of a publicly funded system, of course, they could go straight there. The issue arises when they want t

Finance committee  One of the great challenges in recruitment and retention, and there are several, is training. We heard recently that the Canadian Forces and Veterans Affairs have a need for psychologists, and Correctional Services has a need for psychologists. What we know, and we heard it from

Finance committee  As far as I know, one has recently been developed in Correctional Service Canada. We've been trying to advocate for the development of a residency program that might see clinical psychology students rotate through various departments, with perhaps four months in Veterans Affairs,

Finance committee  That's a really good question. The only benchmark I am aware of is one in the area of school psychology. We know that the greatest return on investment when it comes to mental health is with children. The benchmark is about one psychologist for every thousand students. The Euro

Finance committee  Thank you for the invitation to join you today to talk about Bill C-462. The Canadian Psychological Association is the national association for psychology in Canada. There are about 18,000 regulated practitioners, making us the country's largest group of regulated specialized men

Finance committee  Thank you for the invitation to present today. The Canadian Psychological Association is the national association for psychology in Canada. There are about 18,000 psychologists in Canada, making us the country's largest group of regulated specialized mental health care providers

Finance committee  We had the opportunity to meet with the CRA just last week, and they provided some clarity, but the concerns we've outlined today reflect the continued concerns coming out of that meeting. It's really what it means to have solely a health care purpose and what it means to have an

Finance committee  Yes, absolutely. Either the person pays out-of-pocket or if there is insurance to cover it, that is how it gets paid.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  It's a little bit different whether it's an insured service that you have through employment versus—