Sarnia-Lambton's MP is calling on all members of parliament to shine light on workplace mental health.
Marilyn Gladu, the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and the Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce, hosted a mental health awareness event Friday at the Sarnia Riding Club.
The 338 Conversations initiative encourages all 338 Canadian MPs, and their chambers of commerce, to support and promote the health commission's National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety.
The Standard is a set of voluntary guidelines, tools and resources intended to guide organizations in promoting mental health and preventing psychological harm at work.
Gladu said 500,000 Canadians miss work every day due to mental health problems, costing the country $51 billion a year.
"This is a conversation that will be happening across the country and this is the first of the 338 ridings to host one of these events. We're talking about mental health in the workplace and trying to raise awareness and point to some excellent tools the Canadian Mental Health Association has put forward."
Sarnia-Lambton MP Marilyn Gladu speaks during a 338 Conversations event at the Sarnia Riding Club.
Health commission president and CEO Louise Bradley said the The Standard is a set of voluntary guidelines, tools and resources intended to guide organizations in promoting mental health, preventing psychological harm, and removing a stigma at work.
"It's something that brings mental health from the usual places, like in health centres where people are sometimes reluctant to go, right into the workplace-- an area where we spend most of our wakening hours, by the way," said Bradley. "All roads lead to stigma. If we can't overcome that, then people are not going to get the help that they need. Marilyn was the first MP to take up the challenge [when we visited Parliament Hill in May] and we're hoping that she'll be an inspiration for others across the country."
Bradley said businesses that adopt The Standard, including the Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce, continue to see tremendous benefits.
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Mental Health Commission of Canada President and CEO Louise Bradley speaks during a 338 Conversations event at the Sarnia Riding Club.
