Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When we talk about mental health, there are so many branches and so many different avenues we can take in addressing and talking about this very, very harmful disease. What I want to talk about today is some of the work that’s been done with the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Last year, November 25th, the Mental Health Commission of Canada released a comprehensive implementation guide to help Canadian employers fully adopt the national standard of Canada for psychological health and safety in the workplace, something that is needed. This implementation guide is available on their website at no cost.
I know that while we must take primary responsibility for our health and well-being, the workplace can play a significant role in our ability to manage both our physical and our psychological health. That’s why this is very important. Workplace mental health has a $51 billion economic impact on businesses across Canada. About 30 percent of disability claims and 70 percent of disability costs are all attributed to mental health problems and illnesses.
Mental health in the workplace is very important. We see that in our communities. We also hear it from our constituents who are dealing with either management, system flaws, issues that we’re dealing with. I think with this fiscal restraint policy that we had to implement this year, that might have caused some of the mental health issues in some of the workplaces as well.
Just last month, on January 22nd, the Mental Health Commission of Canada also released another document, Informing the Future: Mental Health Indicators for Canada. This is the first ever national level set of indicators that identifies and reports on the mental health of Canadians.
This disease, mental illness, touches all parts of the health system and on all parts of society, and no one organization or department, for that matter, can tackle this complex issue alone. We’ve got to find a way where we can work together with our NGOs, with organizations such as the Mental Health Commission of Canada and Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse to tackle this issue to make sure that we have the right programs and services for those that need it. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Moses. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Blake.
