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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 114

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 20, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 114 - Oct/20/22
Mr. Michael Coteau (Don Valley East, Lib.)
  • Oct/20/22 7:52:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is a real privilege to be here today. I want to thank the member for Cariboo—Prince George for getting us on the right track with this discussion. For people at home, we call this a debate, but really it has been a wonderful discussion around a serious issue. I think the fact that partisanship has been removed from this conversation, and we can actually sink our teeth into a very sensitive and very important issue, means a lot to me. This is one of the first times over the course of the year where I can say that it seems like we are all 100% on the same page, and that is to help people who need help. We know that the world is becoming more challenging for people. We can see it outside. When we go to the grocery store and talk to people, we can see the stress people are having. It is up to us as parliamentarians to look for ways to find solutions. I served as a school board trustee in Toronto. I was a youth worker. I was also the minister responsible for children and youth, so I was responsible for children's mental health in Ontario. From what I have seen over 20 years in politics is that it comes down to a disconnect between the entire system. In my city, at least a few years ago, there were 47 different providers in the city, and there was no coordination at the time. That is happening right across this country in many ways. We need to look for ways to bring people together. The member for London actually spoke about his area which, in many ways, is getting it right because they have a collective impact model, where 170 youth-based organizations come together under an entity called the London Child and Youth Network. They work together by setting similar goals and looking for ways to work with each other to accomplish a set of goals. I think that we need to continue to look for ways to share best practices across this country, to build a framework that connects school boards, municipalities, the federal government and the provincial government together, and really look for ways to move forward. I will not go through some of the numbers. We know the impact of mental health and its cost of billions of dollars. I think two members have referred to $50 billion in lost productivity in this country. There is a cost to standing still. If we do not continue to invest, it is going to cost more and more. We know in a place like Ontario that the wait-list has grown to almost three years. Postpandemic, the wait-list has grown by three times. We have a crisis on our hands, and we need to look for ways to go back to our provinces, gather information and bring it back here. I do think we need to look for ways to work together. It is a key piece in this whole equation. In addition to that, the member for Cariboo—Prince George said something that I thought was very important. There is not one solution for everyone. It is an important piece. If we look regionally or culturally, or look at different age groups and situations in life, there are so many different lenses that can be applied to looking for solutions when it comes to mental health. I know that in Ontario there has been funding that has gone specifically to culturally based groups because stigmas are very different in different communities. We are in this room today. What may apply back in one person's community may not apply in someone else's community. We need to build that flexibility and that collective impact across this country and look for ways to build a flexible system that allows for regions to continue to build, share best practices and coordinate those services.
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