Health committee  Thank you for the question. You know well that the delivery of mental health services is a shared jurisdiction. I note the action plan that the Province of Quebec put together with respect to the pillars to address mental health. We are working very closely with our colleagues in the Province of Quebec to look at how the services can be delivered in a way that's targeted to the needs of the jurisdiction.

Health committee  I'll take the question. The issue of women facing a need for access is especially acute in remote areas, so thank you for that question. One tool we have to help women in remote areas would be the Wellness Together Canada tool, where we do have 24-7 access to not just counselling but also stepped care, self-assessment and peer discussions.

Health committee  I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take your turn, but I want to speak about what Health Canada is doing in the area of perinatal mental health. We recently funded a study with Women's College and Dr. Simone Vigod to look at conducting a study on perinatal mental health, in order to identify treatments and clinical guidelines for practitioners, not just for pregnancy and the perinatal aspect but also for postpartum as well.

Health committee  One of the programs I think are important to address in terms of access and special rural access is the Wellness Together Canada program. It was first implemented during the pandemic to assist Canadians from all jurisdictions to have access to 24-7 counselling, as well as to access their own mental health services.

Health committee  I think that, as members of this committee know, the delivery of health services access is the responsibility of provinces and territories. With that view, we work very closely with our colleagues in the provinces and territories to ensure that access to vital mental health services is provided in a timely way.

Health committee  Absolutely. I just want to say that the best people to answer this question would be our colleagues at Indigenous Services Canada. However, with respect to how we are working to increase access to mental health services in indigenous communities, we are working very closely with our colleagues.