SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Ontario Assembly

43rd Parl. 1st Sess.
March 6, 2023 10:15AM
  • Mar/6/23 10:50:00 a.m.

Thank you for that question. Our government takes mental health in the province of Ontario very seriously. I’m the first minister appointed to look after mental health and addictions issues in the province. We came up with a Roadmap to Wellness, which is a basic plan, a foundational document that looks after lifespans. It looks after investments required for children and youth, for adults, for seniors, for people with addictions and concurrent disorders. We backed it with a $525-million-a-year plan, $3.8 billion over 10 years. Seeing the crisis, another $90 million in February of last year was invested to create 400 treatment beds, which is the equivalent of 7,000 treatment spots throughout the province of Ontario—not just in southern Ontario, everywhere in the province of Ontario.

Mr. Speaker, the investments continue. When we speak about the investments that have been made with respect to mobile crisis intervention teams, over $40 million has been put in place to create low-barrier access for individuals needing supports. So yes, investment—

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  • Mar/6/23 11:30:00 a.m.

Thank you very much for that question. Again, children and youth are extremely important, and providing supports and services to them is a priority for our government. We have made it a priority. Whether it be the investments in the education system, whether it be the investments in community-based treatment, or whether it’s specifically aimed at things like eating disorders and self-harm, investments are being made and we are working to reduce the wait-lists. There has been, as I mentioned before, $11 million invested specifically to deal with eating disorders, so that kids can have the supports they need closest to home. We invested $8.1 million to create seven beds at CHEO, five at SickKids and two at McMaster. So yes, we are listening. We know that there are needs, and McMaster got two beds as well. In addition to that, $130 million since 2019 has been invested as well.

And our youth wellness hubs are providing an incredible resource to kids between the ages of 12 and 24—

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