Excise Tax Act
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Michelle Ferreri: it is always an honour and privilege to stand in the House of Commons on behalf of my community of Peterborough--Kawartha. It is an even bigger honour when I am able to speak to the issue which I believe is the biggest crisis facing our nation: mental health. There is not a person in this House or watching at home who has not been impacted by mental health. According to a 2020 UNICEF report, Canada ranks 31 out of 38 in children's mental health and happiness and 35 out of 38 in teen suicide. Approximately 12 people die every single day by suicide. That is 4,500 deaths a year that we know about. Suicide rates are approximately three times higher among men compared to women. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among youth aged 15 to 34 years. I should have put a trigger warning at the beginning of this speech in the event this bothers anyone watching, as we are talking about mental health and suicide. Self-reported suicidal thoughts, and I would make note of the language "self-reported", and attempts are higher for people earning lower incomes. As we know, in this cost of living crisis, financial anxiety is impacting more and more people. What used to be considered good money is barely enough today. I am not going to get into the debate on carbon tax and the Liberals' failure on cost of living. I really want to focus on what we can do today. I have some stats that put this crisis into perspective. Incidences of suicide are higher in rural settings. Adults with mental disorders, such as major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and PTSD were more likely to report suicidal ideation. Adults who experienced pandemic-related impacts of isolation and loneliness were more at risk of suicidal thoughts. In fact, today I met with the Retired Teachers of Ontario, who shared with me that mental health among its 83,000 members is a major concern. Many seniors do not have access to a doctor, and it is deeply impacting their mental and physical health. Almost every single day I hear from a parent or caregiver who shares their despair, their fear, about the mental health of their child. One gentleman started to talk to me one day and he broke down in tears because his teenage son would not come out of his room. He said, "The son I had before the pandemic and the son I have now is not the same, and I am so worried for his future and his health." One parent shared with me that she waited eight hours in an emergency room with her teenage daughter because she was having a mental health crisis. We have not even begun to understand the impact of the pandemic on our children. Their developing brains were exposed to trauma and isolation, and it will take years to get the data to understand the full magnitude of how our children have been impacted. I sit on the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, and we recently completed a study. The report is titled "A Step-by-Step Approach to Supporting the Mental Health of Young Women and Girls in Canada". The study brought forth many witnesses and a list of recommendations tabled with this House, some of which included education in schools, including self-regulation and empathy; mental health first aid; supports in rural and remote communities, including clinical and virtual care; access to housing; access to virtual mental health care; providing transitional services for individuals who are discharged from addictions and mental health-related hospital programs; youth who are aging out of foster care and individuals who are leaving emergency situations such as violence. Another recommendation that came out included increased resources for health care practitioners. The reality is our frontline health care workers are suffering from compassion fatigue and burnout. As the old saying goes, the caretaker must first put on their oxygen mask if they are to help those who need it. Dr. Rakesh Jetly was one of many witnesses who testified in the study. It was this quote that jumped out at me: "It's a year and a half wait for a psychiatrist for a teenager.... A year and a half is a lifetime at that age." All that information I just provided seems overwhelming and a huge task to try to change the course we are on, but we cannot give up. How does one climb a mountain? One step at a time. For many people watching from home, this place of debate can be extremely frustrating and painfully slow. Trust me, I know how they feel. If the member from Kingston wants to continue to talk while I do my speech, I would ask that he respectfully leave. It is rude. Mr. Speaker, would you please address that?