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House Hansard - 320

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 29, 2024 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 320 - May/29/24
Hon. Ya'ara Saks (Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, Lib.)
  • May/29/24 11:18:00 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I know that the member is such a staunch advocate for mental health and for helping those who use substances in our communities. I do not think there is a quick fix to getting our health systems to incorporate mental health in the full spectrum of care. That is why we are taking an integrated approach through the bilateral agreements. As I mentioned earlier in the evening, just for example, in Ontario, $700 million of its $3.1 billion bilateral agreement is going toward mental health and substance use. We have to move the needle. We are not there yet. Community service organizations have been the bedrock of providing mental health services in the gap that we see across jurisdictions. That being said, this is exactly why programs like the youth mental health fund are being put into place in budget 2024, but there are no quick fixes. We are moving mental health into the health care systems. We are seeing, for the first time ever, that there are mental health ministers in nearly every jurisdiction across this country, which shows us that there is a prioritization to work collaboratively. I am happy to meet with the member to talk about what is going on in his own community with regard to the CMHA. Local CMHAs do terrific work, and I would be happy to discuss.
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