A Guelph teenage mental health and addictions advocate who spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Health Minister Ginette Petipas Taylor about mental health and suicide prevention last fall says he is disappointed with the federal budget.
“The mentally ill, who are the least able to speak up, have been forgotten and neglected by this government," said Irvine in an email.
"They will continue to battle with a complex, inefficient and ineffective system with no hope for improvement,” said Irvine, who lost his mother to suicide and his father to a prescription drug overdose.
“Families and individuals dealing with mental health and addictions know the system is messed up and fixing it won’t be quick or easy but they need hope. They need to know the government cares and is committed to improving the situation. That’s why I suggested creating a secretariat of mental health and addictions in the prime minister’s office,” said Irvine.
He said a secretariat would provide all politicians and others an ongoing national focus on mental health and addictions. Annual meetings of ministers of health fail to give enough attention to the issues.
“Prime Minister Trudeau and the health minister expressed interest in a secretariat when I spoke with them. However, the budget demonstrates they have no interest in an ongoing, national forum on mental health and addictions," he said.
"They are content with the current broken system. Sadly, they are content to provide no hope to Canadians suffering with mental health and addictions. The mentally ill have been left forgotten and without hope,” said Irvine.
