GuelphToday received the following letter to the editor from mental health and addictions advocate Noah Irvine in regard to the recent federal budget announcement.
Mr. Longfield is wrong to say that the recently released federal budget contains ideas I’ve been pushing for as a mental health and addictions advocate. From my perspective, the budget supports a system of mental health care that has failed Canadians for decades. It pours money into a system that needs a complete overhaul, but too few politicians are willing to tackle.
I’ve met and talked with Mr. Longfield several times. A few years ago, I talked to him about creating a Secretariat for Mental Health and Addictions within the Prime Minister’s Office to provide a national forum for all levels of government – federal, provincial, territorial, municipal, and Indigenous – to work on Canada’s mental health and addictions crisis. Because of the pandemic, more and more Canadians of all ages are experiencing mental health issues.
As a result, I now advocate that the federal government take strong leadership in crisis and create a Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions. (I appreciate under our constitution, health is a provincial responsibility. But as a federation, we also have a responsibility to work together in times of crisis. Other federations have found a way to do it.)
Why a Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions? Because MH&A is a multi-faceted issue. It has many related concerns which must be addressed, including physical health, housing, education, employment, income, ethnicity, transportation, and food. A ministry brings together and coordinates the broad range of services and supports Canadians suffering from MH&A issues may need.
I’ve been talking with Mr. Longfield about this for years. More than two months ago, I sent him and every other member of parliament a survey asking for his opinions about the MH&A crisis in his constituency and across Canada. He did not return it. Since then, I’ve sent it to him three more times. Still, no response.
The federal budget is a wasted opportunity for the government to provide national leadership to a national crisis. Canadians will continue to suffer at the hand of a system that has a decades-long history of failure. We need politicians who recognize and respond to Canadians’ needs.
Regards,
