Speaker, in any given year, one in five Canadians experiences a mental illness. Within these statistics lie the stories and struggles of individuals with a unique journey of mental health challenges. By age 40, one in two have or have had a mental illness. Each number represents a person, a story and a struggle.

In Ontario, 24,000 social workers tirelessly navigate mental health care, offering support in alleviating these struggles.

Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Thanks to the Ontario Association of Social Workers, the largest collective of mental health support workers with 9,000 members, for exemplifying compassion and resilience by providing comfort and understanding to those in need.

As we honour Social Work Week from March 4 to 10, let’s recognize the crucial role of social workers in Mississauga–Malton and across the province. Whether you are a social worker or have been touched by one, I invite you to explore this year’s theme of “Social Work Opens Doors” at oasw.org.

Let’s remember: With every open door, we pave the way for hope, healing, a bright future and a brighter Ontario.

Thank you to the member for Toronto–St. Paul’s. I recently met with representatives from the Taddle Creek Family Health Team. They serve over 20,000 patients. They’re located on Bay Street. One of the people that was speaking to me said, “I’m worried about what happens at U of T. You have all these students. We know that there’s some very serious mental health challenges that some students are facing. They have some access to mental health on campus, and then they graduate and they’re on their own.” Can you speak to the government’s track record on providing access to mental health care for young people?

Thank you for that question from the member from University–Rosedale. One of the most impactful things I remember in this House was when the Conservative government cut mental health funding by $330 million, I believe it was. That spoke volumes about this government’s “commitment” to mental health.

The reality is mental health for many Ontarians is something that they need to pull out their credit card for. It’s not something that they can access freely. It’s not covered under OHIP, necessarily, for everyone. It would be great to see a province that recognizes that mental health is health and that we need to have our mental health services covered by OHIP so that every student, even when they graduate, can get access to the supports they need, because that’s how they become contributing citizens. That’s how they can become homeowners. That’s how they can become employed and leaders and possibly one day take their—

Again, it comes back to the point: The bill has some very positive first steps. As I said, years ago you all gave the Anti-Racism Directorate a $1,000 budget. I’m sure some of your suits cost more than $1,000. So the fact that you’re at least addressing the issues of equity and mental health is a good thing. I’m just saying, put some money behind it. Properly invest in the post-secondary sector so they can actually do this work that you are saying you want to get done.

And listen to us—