Under the last accord in 2004, Canada’s first ministers signed a 10-year agreement that included a commitment to improve access to five clinical procedures. It included an investment of 5.5 billion dollars for a wait time initiative that spurred provincial investments to meet specific targets and reduce wait times for patients. Mental health care wasn’t on the list.
While there’s been significant progress on mental health in Canada, too many people are not getting the care they need. Funding levels do not match the burden of illness. Wait lists grow. People are in pain. Lives are lost.
As our Ministers of Health meet to create a new agreement, they need to hear from all of us that a failure of this relationship to include practical action for mental health care will speak volumes.
They need to hear that people with mental illness, and those who stand with them, will no longer stand for less than justice.
Plenty of time has been spent on strategy – it’s now time to implement the initiatives that will transform lives.
Follow Catherine on Twitter at @CatherineZahn
Health equity for all Canadians
- Health equity for all Canadians