Bill C-201: Amending the Canada Health Act for Mental Health Parity
Mental health matters. Underinvestment in it is costing Canada.
When Tommy Douglas first envisioned public health care in Canada, he imagined a system that would care for people from head to toe. But in a country awash in wealth, that vision is still incomplete. Mental health is part of your health. It should be part of our publicly funded healthcare system. Many services are not covered under public health insurance plans, including counselling and psychotherapy. No one should go without the healthcare they need because it’s unaffordable.
That is why MP Gord Johns introduced Bill C-201, An Act to amend the Canada Health Act (mental, addictions and substance use health services), the very first Private Member’s Bill introduced in this Parliament. Bill C-201 would amend the Canada Health Act to bring mental health into parity with physical health, ensuring that Canadians can access crucial mental health services with their health card – not their credit card.