SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 114

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 20, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 114 - Oct/20/22
Mrs. Élisabeth Brière (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, Lib.)
  • Oct/20/22 7:50:42 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for his speech. We know that having access to mental health services at the right time, when we need it, is important. During COVID‑19, we saw with Wellness Together Canada that there were more than two million visits to the portal we put in place. Does my colleague think that working on accessibility to mental health services puts us on the right track to moving this important issue forward?
77 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 114 - Oct/20/22
Mr. Peter Fragiskatos
  • Oct/20/22 7:51:17 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for the question. I know how passionate she is in her work as parliamentary secretary. I think that she was engaged in such issues before she became an MP and deserves a lot of credit for that work as well. I think that accessibility is fundamental to the issue, and whatever government can do to further ensure that is very important. This is something that relates to stigma as well. I do not know if even 10 years ago we would have had these kinds of discussions or the sort of policies that bring to life what the member is talking about, so yes, there is more to do, but I am glad to see that we have, in many ways, gone in the right direction.
132 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 114 - Oct/20/22
Mr. Luc Thériault (Montcalm, BQ)
  • Oct/20/22 8:08:29 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Chair, although I do respect my colleague, he has some gall to have made that speech. First, when parties were discussing the deadlines for the committee's work, it was the Conservatives who refused to have the committee continue its work past the date set at the outset. Then they accepted June 6. We finally agreed on February and today they are saying that we must take the time needed. Meanwhile, they were not open to immediately planning the work to be done up to that point. Second, I listened to the same experts and read the same expert report. Even though at the beginning I was not at all convinced about accessibility when mental illness is the only reason given, that is not what the experts stated in this report. We will continue our work and our soul-searching. My colleague says that the government is ideologically driven, but the government can speak for itself. I believe that my colleague's speech is very ideological because he cites just one part of the report. When we examine the set of criteria to be met for someone with a mental health issue to gain access, we see that it is available to a very small number of people. People with suicidal ideation do not fall into that category.
220 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border