A local Member of Provincial Parliament has asked the Ford government for support in community mental health.
Windsor West MPP Lisa Gretzky, of the NDP, has joined caucus members in requesting an emergency increase of mental health funding by eight per cent. A motion was tabled at Queens Park Tuesday.
"Ontario is facing a mental health crisis," said Gretzky in a media release. "With high rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout becoming increasingly common, more Ontarians are seeking support every day. When people make the decision to seek care, they often find that care is unavailable, unaffordable, or has a painfully long wait time. In a crisis, people can’t afford to wait."
The issue surrounding the wait for mental health care has been very clear in Windsor, according to Gretzky.
"Windsor has one of the longest wait times in the province for intensive children’s mental health care, an average wait of 588 days", said Gretzky. "Our children can’t wait, they need access to services immediately."
Children's Mental Health Ontario, which represents the province's publicly-funded child and youth mental health centres, reported there were 28,000 young people on waiting lists for mental health care as of January 2020.
"The Ontario NDP are listening to the CMHA [Canadian Mental Health Association]," said Gretzky. "The Premier must commit to treating mental health care as health care. He must sign off on this common-sense solution and provide the support that our communities are asking for."
The Mental Health Strategy for Canada had recommended an increase in mental health funding for Ontario to about $5.7-billion.
