Madam Speaker, mental health has become a buzz word during the pandemic but it isn't all for naught. Talking about mental health is half the battle. The other half is finding the right support. Since March 2020, more than a third of young adult Canadians accessed mental health supports, and half of Canadians indicated their mental health declined compared to before the pandemic. Of Canadians 15 or older who reported having a mental health care need in the last year, one third state their needs were simply just not met.
But I question if our system is set up to figure out what these needs are and how to connect Northerners to them. Mental health is a continuum that includes mental health supports, like treatment and counselling, which we heard about from my colleague from Nunakput and from Great Slave. The continuum also includes mental wellness options like cultural, physical, and creative outlets. Part of ensuring that mental health resources are available to those who need them is also about ensuring that the system can determine the strengths and resiliences of residents and meet them where they are at. In short, Madam Speaker, as a new mother suffering from postpartum depression, I needed mental health interventions, but today as I work to stay well during the pandemic with my colleagues, my mental wellness is reliant on connections with people.
The language of mental health matters. To start using the same language, we need to keep dismantling the stigma and talking about what mental health and mental wellness really means to our communities. The economic burden of mental illness in Canada is about $51 billion a year. In any given week, at least 500,000 employed Canadians are unable to work due to mental health problems. This means that every dollar we invest in and make accessible to northerners through NGOs, recreation, hunting and trapping, language and cultural programs, contribute to our mental wellness continuum. We need to solidify their place in community wellness through accessible, stable, multiyear funding.
The NWT needs a system capable of meeting a person where they are at in their wellness journey and not trying to figure out how to fit the person into a government system reliant on not enough professionals. We need a broad system of care that values the contributions of livedexperience as well as masters degrees and supports equitable clear access to this system.
Madam Speaker, we cannot let mental health conversations become a whisper as restrictions ease. Let's turn up the volume, peel away the stigma, and broaden the conversation. Thank you.
Thank you. Members' statements. Member for Deh Cho.
