With the release of new mental health data from Statistics Canada, the Canadian Mental Health Association shared its reaction to the news with a number of media outlets. The new data is from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey – Mental Health, the most comprehensive national survey conducted on mental health and substance use issues in Canada within the last 10 years.
Though the survey indicated that 1 in 10 Canadians reported symptoms in the last 12 months, CMHA Ontario CEO Camille Quenneville cautioned media outlets that the number could be even higher.
Significant populations were excluded from the study, including Aboriginal communities, people in the Canadian Forces and individuals in institutions such as long-term care, hospitals, and jails.
“What I don’t want is for people to walk away from this thinking [the prevalence of mental health problems is] not that bad, when we would suggest it’s very significant,” Quenneville told the Globe and Mail.
Quenneville also appeared on the CBC’s The National and the World at Six to discuss the need for greater funding for mental health services.
More CMHA coverage in the media on this issue can be found below.
The Toronto Sun (QMI Agency)