Finance committee  The national mental health commission is going to begin to articulate the values and determine what this thing is going to look like. So if the experts, people far smarter than I am, determine that it should be decentralized and there should be a focus on rural programs, either through using telemental health with phone systems, or by sending people out there, or by providing proctors to drive, then those are the kinds of values this commission could begin to articulate.

Finance committee  My understanding is that yes, it needs to begin to articulate the values and see what the strategy is going to look like. Then once that's done, the commission shuts down, and the strategy takes over. That's my understanding of it.

Finance committee  I think there has to be a national plan. One of the problems with the mental health system is that the entry points are often gatekeepers. One of the things that could begin to happen with the national strategy is they could expect to become more navigators through the system to help people.

Finance committee  I thank you for this opportunity. I see it as an honour. As a citizen of Portage and on behalf of the board and staff of CMHA Central Region, I welcome you here to Portage la Prairie. I also want to say that I don't sit here alone; I sit here with the Manitoba division and the national division, so together our voices are echoing throughout the country.