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Context: House Hansard - 114 - Oct/20/22

Oct/20/22 10:00:54 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I know we are not supposed to use props, but these greasy rectangles of glass in our pockets are devastating for children. They distract them. They keep them on those things, and they keep them from developing that physical literacy I was talking about. They can be an encouraging way to keep in touch with their friends and make sure their parents keep track of them, but we have to encourage technology literacy as well, and that means limiting access to these things and some of the impacts that social media has on their psyches.

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Ms. Lori Idlout (Nunavut, NDP)

Oct/20/22 10:01:24 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I will be sharing my time with the member for Vancouver East. As parliamentarians, we must recognize indigenous-led mental health services. Colonial mental health services are not having the same effect for Nunavummiut as they may for other Canadians. Since time immemorial, first nations, Métis and Inuit have used their own practices to support each other. Our mental wellness practices as indigenous people are valuable but need more recognition. In Nunavut, community members do not have the specific spaces that provide secure and confidential mental health services the same way certified professional mental health providers do. The infrastructure may be there but unavailable to indigenous providers. If a psychologist were to travel to a community, they would leave people on a waiting list with little to no support. Practices that work for southern communities cannot be the only option for indigenous peoples. There are indigenous-led services that are making a huge difference with the people they help. An Inuit mental health project funded by the Mandala Institute for Holistic Mental Health is beginning to offer Inuit-led services. This institute has a huge impact on Inuit across Canada. Inuit elders, activists and advocates have long been calling for Inuit-specific mental health training programs. These programs need to be available to Inuit across Canada. Decolonized mental health programs are needed to address mental health crises that are leading to increased depression, addiction and suicide rates. The Mandala mental health funded project is looking into piloting a heal the healer program. This program would train Inuit to support their communities with expertise in mental health. Projects like these need to be funded. There need to be financial resources dedicated for indigenous-led mental health practices. These services need to be recognized by the government to make sure the burden is not on Inuit. We cannot continue to ask indigenous community members to volunteer their time and space because the government does not recognize their expertise. The government has allocated $600 million for innovative mental health care for Canadians since the start of the pandemic. There must also be a focus on providing funding for indigenous traditional health practices. My communities are not seeing the support and training they need to support themselves. This is not acceptable in this time of reconciliation. We as parliamentarians need to demand more from the government and all future governments. We appreciate kind words, but significant investments for indigenous-led mental health services are urgently needed. As parliamentarians, we must stop placing the burden on Inuit and indigenous peoples who do not have the housing, who live in poverty and who lack the infrastructure to do the work of the government. In the meantime, first nations, Métis and Inuit can access the Hope for Wellness help line at 1-855-242-3310. I have used it myself, and I will be forever grateful for receiving counselling in Inuktitut from Hope for Wellness.

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Mr. Larry Maguire (Brandon—Souris, CPC)

Oct/20/22 10:05:35 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to go back to one of the things that the parliamentary secretary for health just indicated, which is the importance of nutrition with regard to mental health activities. These numbers are from the Canadian Mental Health Association. It says that Canada lags behind some other countries because it spends only about 5% to 7% of its overall health care budget on mental health, whereas some of our OECD colleagues, like France, New Zealand and the Netherlands, spend 10% to 13%. I wonder if the hon. member could just elaborate on her thoughts with regard to the importance of nutrition, given the cost of nutrition in her home region.

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Ms. Lori Idlout

Oct/20/22 10:06:25 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I have asked several times in the House about the nutrition north program, which is a federally funded program that is subsidizing for-profit companies, rather than helping people in poverty. Because of the subsidy that is being given to for-profit companies, people who are in poverty are suffering and are continuing to live in mental health conditions that they should not have to. I really hope that we can do better to make sure that especially Arctic communities in my riding are able to have access to healthy, affordable and nutritious food.

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Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Oct/20/22 10:07:10 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I cannot thank my colleague enough for her work around mental health, especially for Inuit, first nations and Métis people. She talked about reconciliation. In the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to action number 21, it is explicit. It states: We call upon the federal government to provide sustainable funding for existing and new Aboriginal healing centres to address the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual harms caused by residential schools, and to ensure that the funding of healing centres in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories is a priority. Does my colleague believe there will be true reconciliation until this call to action is actually implemented and fulfilled?

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Ms. Lori Idlout

Oct/20/22 10:07:57 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I would like to thank my colleague for all the work that he does in the area of mental health, as well. Reconciliation is going to be a very long journey because of the deep impacts that colonialism continues to have. Definitely, better funding, healing centres and healing programs will take that step forward quite a bit, but that will not be sufficient. There are too many investments and too many promises that have been broken, too many people who live in overcrowded housing situations and too many people who live in mouldy old housing units. I think that making sure there is a focus on those healing centres would definitely take that step forward, but it will not be enough.

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Mr. Todd Doherty (Cariboo—Prince George, CPC)

Oct/20/22 10:08:50 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to offer our colleague another opportunity. Today in question period she brought up a tragic case of a young mother who was pregnant, I believe, and could not find housing in her community. Sadly, this young mother died by suicide. We must consider the importance of housing, the importance of clean water and the importance of, as my colleague said, nutrition in our rural and remote communities. Sadly, I think those are such high contributors to the suicide epidemics that we see in our first nations communities and our rural and remote communities. I just want to offer my colleague another opportunity to bring this forward in tonight's debate.

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Ms. Lori Idlout

Oct/20/22 10:09:45 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, I really appreciate the space that the hon. member has given me to retell a story that is still so fresh in my mind that it still brings me to tears, which I was told by the Taloyoak Housing Authority. When, unfortunately, this young pregnant Inuk woman was told that, no, she was not getting a house, she died by suicide because she felt so hopeless. It brings to bear just how much of a burden we are placing on our communities by the government failing our people. This is what I have been trying to focus on. How do we alleviate all of that burden that we are putting on the decision-makers when they have to choose who gets to live in what house because there is not enough funding for all of the houses that need to be provided?

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Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Oct/20/22 10:10:55 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will build on what I heard from my colleague about the need for the social determinants of health to be addressed, because that is intrinsically linked to both our physical and mental health. The reality is that there are so many people in our communities who do not have access to basic supports that should be a basic human right, such as housing. When people cannot access housing, they are in turmoil. Pregnant mothers feel so hopeless because they cannot have access to housing that they take their lives. I have had situations in my own riding of Vancouver East where mothers and families who are trying to get away from domestic violence are not able to access housing. There is desperation when sending them back to the abuser because they have no other choice. I have met mothers who lost their children, and not because they are bad parents but because they do not have access to safe, secure and affordable housing. Let us imagine for one moment the trauma associated with that. What does that do to their hearts, to their minds and to their mental health? Those are the realities that people have to live with every day across Canada and most definitely in my riding of Vancouver East. I have met children who have gone through life into adulthood without access to early diagnosis. As a result, they suffer from mental health issues. Some of them have ended up homeless in the community. Some of them have ended up in a situation where addiction is tied in. In fact, in Vancouver, a homelessness count was done, and the latest statistics we have, from back in the 2020 study, show 44% of the participants self-reported a mental health condition or illness as part of the challenge they face and 60% reported addiction as an issue. In my riding of Vancouver East, the homelessness crisis has shot through the roof. I have never, in my 30 years in public life, seen it as bad as it is today. Those are the realities that people are faced with. Just this summer, my daughter got a distress call. It was almost by accident. A friend she had from high school sent her a call that she thought was weird and odd. Luckily, she picked up on it and called for an intervention and a life was saved. That was what happened, and it was so close to home in so many ways. That young woman was struggling to try to find housing. She was trying to escape an abusive situation in her home and trying to find safe housing. She felt so hopeless that she could not get it. Those are the realities that people are faced with. When I see and learn that the government made a promise to provide resources of $4.5 billion and then it did not go out into the system to help the people in greatest need, one cannot imagine the distress, the anger, the sadness and the frustration I am going through and that I know many members of this House are going through. More to the point, I think of the people who so desperately need the supports. I cannot imagine what they must be going through, and the loved ones who see their family members struggling. We have to tie the social determinants of health to this. When we say mental health is a health issue, we have to treat it as such. We have all said it in this House. Let us make sure that when people need the support, it is actually provided. Let us make sure that it is part of the overall universal health care system. Let us make sure that housing is a basic human right so that we do not hear any more about the tragic and devastating stories that my colleague has just shared with us. It is time to act and we need to save lives. Let us always remember that.

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Mr. Todd Doherty (Cariboo—Prince George, CPC)

Oct/20/22 10:15:56 p.m.
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Madam Chair, earlier this week, on Tuesday as a matter of fact, we heard about the death of Constable Yang, a three-year veteran with the RCMP, a mental health and outreach worker. She was somebody who was so passionate about doing everything in her power to support those who were struggling with mental health and addictions, a dedicated member, a committed volunteer and a champion in her community. I know it was close to the hon. member's area. I just wondered if our hon. colleague could talk about how that murder, that senseless act of violence, has impacted her community.

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Ms. Jenny Kwan

Oct/20/22 10:16:56 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thank the member for his excellent work in advancing supports and awareness around the issue of mental health for all Canadians. The situation that took place in the Lower Mainland is devastating. Those are the realities of what people are faced with. In this instance, a young woman who was on the job, helping the community, lost her life. This cannot be acceptable. When we mourn her life, when we celebrate her life, when we honour her and her family, and those who are frontline workers in the community, we need to make sure the resources are there. That is what really matters for the federal government to take action on.

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Ms. Lindsay Mathyssen (London—Fanshawe, NDP)

Oct/20/22 10:17:52 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I am always so grateful for my colleague's incredible advocacy on housing. She is also our critic in our caucus for immigration. One of the things I am constantly hit with in my riding are folks who are dealing with mental health issues and who are desperately trying to turn to family who may live in another country. Unfortunately, because of a lot of the problems we are seeing in our own immigration system, they cannot have family visits and they cannot go and visit. It is soul crushing. I find it cruel to keep families apart. Could the member briefly describe some of the fixes that we have been putting forward and some of the things she has seen in the relation to that, and how that impacts the mental health crisis that we are talking about today?

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Ms. Jenny Kwan

Oct/20/22 10:18:41 p.m.
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Madam Chair, there is no question that our immigration system is actually in crisis. It is in complete chaos, and processing delays are keeping families apart. It is costing people both their physical and mental health. What the government has to do is cut the red tape. We could actually regularize people. We could streamline the processes. We could make sure that those who have long wait times in the processing delays are processed expeditiously. That means additional resources in the system and cutting the red tape to find efficiencies.

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Mr. Larry Maguire (Brandon—Souris, CPC)

Oct/20/22 10:19:24 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my colleague for her presentation. I have had the opportunity of being in her Vancouver East riding. I know there are mental health issues across the whole country, but she has some exceptional circumstances in her region, in her constituency and around her. Could the member elaborate, with respect to the mental health transfer of $900 million a year, $4.5 billion over five years, what she thinks the main issue would be as far as the priority for spending in her constituency?

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Ms. Jenny Kwan

Oct/20/22 10:20:06 p.m.
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Madam Chair, support services are absolutely critical. We need early diagnosis for young children, to catch the illness and the challenges that they are faced with, and to support them and their families all the way through. In our communities we need to make sure we do not discriminate. The fact is that people cannot access mental health supports. The lucky ones who have extended health care can access it. However, a lot of people do not have extended health care. Access to mental health care is about the ability to pay in that regard, because it is so expensive. We need to make sure people can access services. I would be remiss if I did not raise this issue as well. I live in a community where there are a lot of people who speak different languages. Having access to support services in their language is absolutely critical. The language barrier is real as well, and we need to break down those barriers. Funding needs to be in place to enhance access to supports.

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The Deputy Chair

Oct/20/22 10:21:14 p.m.
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It being 10:21 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 53.1, the committee will rise and I will leave the chair.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Oct/20/22 10:21:29 p.m.
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Accordingly the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). (The House adjourned at 10:21 p.m.)

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