A wave of mental strain facing Canadians in response to affordability challenges- including housing and putting food on the table- requires an overhaul of the public health-care system to include mental health supports, according to the NDP mental health critic.
"Certainly, coming after COVID, it's obvious people are struggling just to make ends meet. Basic needs like food and shelter, which are creating stress for people and families, and the chronic stress that impacts people's mental health, especially young people," said NDP MP Gord Johns.
"The NDP are going to be continuing to put pressure on the government, as we have been, but especially this fall we're going to ramp it up even more. We can't afford not to make transformative change to mental health-care in Canada, and the failure for the government to treat mental health equally to physical health under our current public health-care system has had enormous costs for Canadians,"