(Toronto, Wednesday, March 27, 2024) – The following is a statement from Camille Quenneville, CEO, Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division, in reaction to the province’s 2024 budget:
“The provincial budget released today included investments in supportive housing, which is critical infrastructure for those struggling with mental illness and/or an addiction and is essential for recovery. We appreciate the investment so that we can support the most vulnerable in society.
While we appreciate the government’s commitment to supportive housing and additional targeted investments to maintain existing mental health and addictions programs, the lack of base budget increase for our sector fails to acknowledge the health human resources crisis we are facing. This is primarily since our sector supports individuals who are the hardest to serve, yet our staff are among the lowest paid healthcare workers. When compared to others doing the same job in a hospital or in the education system, our staff are often paid 20 to 30 per cent less.
The strength of our sector lies in the people and organizations that provide client care. Last year’s stabilization funding was critically important. Moving forward, we must ensure that we retain our highly valued workforce or we will lose capacity and with it the ability to serve more Ontarians.
Communities across Ontario continue to struggle with the opioid and drug toxicity crises, with an increase in emergency room visits, hospitalizations and fatal overdoses. We urge the government to take greater action on this issue, including approving more consumption and treatment services sites where people who use drugs can do so more safely while also having access to community-based services.
We remain steadfast in our commitment to the Roadmap to Wellness and its goal to create a comprehensive and connected mental health and addictions system. We will continue to advocate for additional funding to support our clients, those in need of service and the people providing care.”
About Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario
Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario is a not-for-profit, charitable organization. We work to improve the lives of all Ontarians through leadership, collaboration and continual pursuit of excellence in community-based mental health and addictions services. Our vision is a society that embraces and invests in the mental health of all people. We are a trusted advisor to government, contributing to health systems development through policy formulation and recommendations that promote positive mental health.
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For more information, contact:
Elham Bidgoli
Director, Communications
Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario