I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak today. I really didn’t expect it to be in this fashion, but after following the member opposite, I have to congratulate her on her openness. Mental health isn’t easy to talk about. Many of our families face it and many people in our communities face it each and every single day. It takes bravery, but it’s that bravery that will allow us to continue the conversations that will break down the stigma people face that we see furthers their suffering, quite frankly.

Mental health has definitely hit my family. As you know, my son-in-law died by suicide in October. I have had two family deaths since that time, one being just last night. We never know from one day to the next what’s happening and who is feeling what.

Making sure that there is a safe space to talk about mental health, regardless of where you are in this province, should be a thing that we all strive to do better.

In saying that, we know that our organizations are struggling. They are underfunded. This isn’t something that is made up on the back of a napkin. This isn’t a political ploy—this is people just like the member opposite, just like my family, just like many of our families who are begging for help. The people are on the streets. They’re on the corners. They’re homeless. There is drug addiction. There are children in our emergency rooms with self-harm—overdose, suicide. This is a true human crisis that we’re seeing in our communities.

A measly 8%—$24 million—to change the lives of families in our province is something that we all should be able to benefit from. It’s something that we all need to be able to have access to.

I’m grateful to my leader for bringing forward this motion today. I know there are lots of comments still coming from this side of the House. Many comments are based on actual facts, they’re based on real-life families—and they’re based on the institutions in our communities that provide them.

I appreciate the opportunity. I’m out of time.