Health committee  Yes. The volunteers spread out across the country would have a variety of roles. Some might be people helping out in office work, but some are peer support workers. They are volunteers, oftentimes people with lived experience of mental illness, who have received training through

Health committee  Yes. P.E.I., for example, has had to establish some new crisis call lines. They didn't have crisis lines they could turn to, so CMHA P.E.I. is expanding its services. Woodstock has found that its calls are up 50%, so they are repurposing staff there. Moose Jaw has also opened up

Health committee  That is a wonderful question. I've been reaching out to some international colleagues and have been trying to get that information. It has been very hard to get in touch with people. I would love to come back to the committee with more of an update on what's happening around the

Health committee  Right. It is a dark time for many people. I think that is one of the things that are most difficult: We don't know when it will end. That is one thing that really contributes to people's anxiety right now, and there can be that feeling of hopelessness. I'm so sorry to hear about

Health committee  It's interesting. I believe there has to be a balanced response. You have to say that you don't know what the end might be, but at the same time reassure people that we will get through it, and that we will get through it together. I think that's the balance.

Health committee  How do we help each other? I think it's very important to think about the landscape of mental health in Canada. We know that mental health has not been funded to the same extent that physical health has been, that there isn't parity. The Mental Health Commission of Canada recomme

Finance committee  Good afternoon. Thank you so much for having me here to speak with you today. I'm Margaret Eaton. I'm the national CEO of the CMHA. We are a nationwide federation of 87 community mental health providers that deliver critical mental health promotion, prevention and care to over o

Finance committee  It's a big goal, and I think one of the ways we've started to think about it is that we have universal health care but not universal mental health care. What you would find in other G7 nations, with the exception of the United States, is a fully funded mental health care system t

Finance committee  I think that would be extraordinary. As we know, depression was at epidemic levels prior to the pandemic, and we know this issue is top of mind for Canadians. I think seeing the federal government play a stronger role in this area, calling it out and putting a minister in charg

Finance committee  That is a huge issue. We are unsure where that funding went as well. In the last mandate letter for the Minister of Health, the minister was urged to set standards in mental health. In doing that, I believe the government was trying to get a handle on what actually was sent out

Finance committee  Sure. Thank you.

Finance committee  Thank you so much, Mr. Chair. Hello. My name is Margaret Eaton. I'm the national CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association, or CMHA. CMHA is the most established and most extensive community mental health organization in Canada. We were founded back in 1918 during the Spani

Finance committee  Thank you so much for that question. As you know, the federal government is the largest funder of health care, and that funding flows through the Canada Health Act to the provinces. We were delighted to see the creation of a transfer that would actually put a ring fence around

Finance committee  We definitely understand that it has to be in partnership with the provinces if this is going to happen. We would like to see the funding itself expanded to ensure that the funding is going toward the people of highest need. We're a bit concerned that some of the plans for expa

Finance committee  We believe the most tested and studied approach as a solution for anxiety is cognitive behavioural therapy. Our local branches offer CBT training. We also have a national program called BounceBack, which is a virtual program that offers cognitive behavioural therapy. We would l