SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 114

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 20, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 114 - Oct/20/22
Mr. Larry Maguire
  • Oct/20/22 8:59:36 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I certainly am very glad that my colleague asked that question because it is a very important one, and it is one that I did not have enough time to fully flesh out in my speech earlier this evening. I spoke to Chief Balcaen, the head of the Brandon police, this past week as well. I got caught up on the situation that has caused a lot of the homelessness, which puts a lot of stress on everyone's mental health. I also mentioned the increasing prices of food, heat and energy. The other area we are struggling with is in our rural areas. Number one, even if there were enough health workers to meet the need, people would have to travel great distances to get that service. There are not enough support workers in, I would say, just about any area of Canada. There are certainly not enough psychologists or mental health workers in other areas. There has been an increasing number of people who are dealing with homelessness and mental health issues. As I said, in Brandon it has doubled over the last number of years. From the statistics I have seen, I know that is relevant to just about every city in Canada. We certainly do need an increase in the number of health workers in the mental health field.
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Context: House Hansard - 114 - Oct/20/22
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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