With a federal budget to be delivered on March 22, CMHA Ontario and National will continue advocating for a key government ask: a nation-wide suicide prevention strategy. Both organizations see such a strategy as a necessary foundation for reducing the number of preventable suicides and providing the necessary mental health supports to people before it’s too late.
CMHA Ontario asked the provincial government to increase spending on mental health and addictions programs and was disappointed when the latest Ontario budget did not adequately reflect the need.
The amount that both the Ontario and federal governments spend on mental health is well below that of fellow commonwealth states such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Successful early intervention and appropriate treatment programs require adequate and focused funding, which in turn can reduce the number of preventable suicides.
This is an ongoing goal for CMHA in providing mental health for all Canadians.
CMHA’s position is the same as the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), which as part of its 2016 federal pre-budget submission, proposed a national suicide prevention project in collaboration with the Mood Disorders Society of Canada. It is a five-year plan that would be rolled out to 13 communities across Canada as a starting point, with a view to broader implementation across the country. Based on successful programs applied in Quebec and Europe, the plan targets specific at-risk populations such as military veterans, youth and Indigenous peoples.