Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Not at this time.

Human Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. May, and my thanks to the committee for inviting the Mental Health Commission of Canada to speak here today. This week in Canada 500,000 Canadians have called in sick to work because of a mental illness. This week isn't special. The same thing happened last week;

Human Resources committee  I'm recovered, not cured. I lead a full, productive life. I have a good job, with responsibility. I have friends and family who care about me. I have hopes and aspirations that I work towards. Recovery from mental illness is exactly the same—it's expected. We know that poverty c

Human Resources committee  As I indicated in my opening remarks, being able to sustain employment is absolutely key. There are a couple of factors that I think we've seen clearly impact one's ability to sustain employment.

Human Resources committee  There are two very significant factors that we see as impacting the ability to earn a living. Number one, first and foremost, is the stigma that clings to mental illness. When I say stigma, what I really mean is discrimination. Tackling stigma, changing attitudes and beliefs abou

Human Resources committee  Thank you for the question. I'm happy that you've targeted stigma in your question, because it is absolutely key. As a commission, we've had the opportunity to work with researchers across the country, particularly researchers out of the University of Calgary and Queen's. Throug

Human Resources committee  Headstrong is a community-based program. It's one that requires some level of support through both policy and financial support. Embedding stigma reduction and mental health promotion in education policy is one step towards making them more of a reality across the country.

Human Resources committee  We do, in fact.

Human Resources committee  Yes, we can send you some information. What we can provide that's perhaps even more relevant is that we've taken the best aspects of those successful ones and put them together in one package.

Human Resources committee  Your question is quite astute. In fact, people with lived experience of mental illness tell us that the time they feel most stigmatized or most discriminated is when they seek help, when they see their family physician, or when they go to the emergency department. Often, they do

Human Resources committee  To be quite—

Human Resources committee  To be quite frank, it's money. We have a project that will demonstrate what works and what doesn't and help us put some science behind understanding the best practices in terms of what workplaces should be doing. We need to enact that demonstration project and put the research i

Human Resources committee  Absolutely.

Human Resources committee  Yes. Thank you for a very relevant question. About three-quarters of adults who experience mental illness tell us that their symptoms actually started in their teenage years, started as a youth, so clearly it's having an impact on those entering the workforce for the very first

Human Resources committee  The At Home/Chez Soi project that I spoke about earlier took place in five pilot sites across the country. The pilot site in Winnipeg was one that had a particular focus on indigenous communities, due to the demographics of that population. It was successful because it was done i