Mental health plan a step closer
December 3, 2008
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Tanya Talaga
QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU
In a rare show of Progressive Conservative-Liberal unity, Health Minister David Caplan says he will support an Opposition resolution for all parties to work together on a provincial mental health strategy.
Conservative MPP Christine Elliott (Whitby-Oshawa) is expected to introduce a private member's resolution tomorrow calling for an all-party committee to come up with a mental health strategy.
"Mental health and addictions issues cut across all partisan lines," Caplan said. "If we can come together, we can come up with a strategy and way forward."
For years, Elliott said she has heard from constituents who have trouble accessing mental health services for themselves or loved ones. "Events of recent weeks have added greater urgency to that, but it is something that I've noted for some time needs co-ordination," she said in an interview.
The recent Roots of Youth Violence report prepared by Roy McMurtry and Alvin Curling recommended $200 million be urgently put into mental health programs, said Elliott.
The government commissioned the report after the shooting of Toronto high school student Jordan Manners in May 2007.
Elliott "certainly agrees" with the funding increase but said her idea for a working group came from Senator Michael Kirby's comprehensive report on mental health in Canada, called Out of the Shadows at Last.
"We need to have a provincial strategy set up to respond to that and to be able to take advantage of any programs that come forward as a result of it," she said.
There are capacity issues relating to children and youth, admitted Caplan. As the population ages, seniors will demand more services. The last Liberal budget set aside $80 million over the course of three years, additionally, for mental health services, said Caplan. "This is a high priority for us," he said.
Improving mental health programs and access in Ontario has been an interest of Caplan's.
The health minister meets every other month with two dozen mental health experts, patient advocates, clinicians and service providers to gather advice and ideas with the intention of creating a provincial mental health and addictions strategy.
Elliott's resolution will help them determine the status of mental health services in the province today and what resources are needed for the future, Caplan said.
"These are two very important steps to the development of the strategy," he said.
Toronto Star