Feds weigh options to keep provinces accountable for mental-health spending
The federal government is taking a close look at options to guarantee results from newly proposed mental-health funding to provinces, according to Canada's mental health minister Carolyn Bennett.
Bennett says that could include new legislation that would accompany the Canada Mental Health Transfer to ensure standards are met.
“We’ve been talking about whether there needs to be a companion act around codifying the transfer, but also a set of expectations,” she said in an interview with CTVNews.ca.
“One of the things we’ve been really lacking even during COVID, it’s been difficult, is the data and without data we don’t know the areas of greatest need or whether things are working. How do we fund what works and stop funding for what doesn’t?”
Bennett said developing accountability measures will coincide with her team’s job to establish national standards of mental-health care across the country, which at this point are a patchwork of different targets and objectives.
“There are some standards for substance use programs but I need to know a little bit more about that in terms of what is the evaluation of what’s working and what’s not working…how do we move forward as we would for cardiology or for physical medicine?” she said.
The Liberal government first announced the mental-health transfer proposal in their election campaign, and earmarked $4.5 billion for the project.
They promised it would “help each jurisdiction focus on and solve critical backlogs in service and provide help to those who need it, according to the unique needs in each region.”
The proposal is the first pillar listed in Bennett’s mandate letter.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked that the minister “work with the minister of health, and with the support of the deputy prime minister and minister of finance, to establish a permanent, ongoing Canada Mental Health Transfer to help expand the delivery of high-quality, accessible and free mental health services, including for prevention and treatment.”
Mental health spending in the provinces is currently dished out through the existing Canada Health Transfer. However, according to the Mental Health Commission of Canada, the country spends considerably less on mental health than comparable countries.
Their 2012 report detailed that just over seven cents out of every public health care dollar goes to mental health, far below the 10 to 11 per cent of public health spending devoted to mental health in countries such as New Zealand and the U.K.
Today, Canada’s share of mental health spending is closer to nine per cent.
While provinces are usually turned off by the notion of money with “strings attached,” it’s not the first time the federal government would be introducing them.
It did so in 2004, when it announced $5.5 billion for the Wait Times Reduction Fund over 10 years, which required all provinces and territories to commit to a set of common wait time targets and report their progress in meeting those targets.
A decade later the Wait Time Alliance reported that some provinces, notably Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan, had made “substantive” and “sustained” progress in reducing wait times.
Dr. David Gratzer, psychiatrist and co-chief of the General Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems Division at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health told CTVNews.ca in an interview that while more federal dollars is a step in the right direction, spending wisely is key.
“We’re moving in the right direction but we also need to move smartly. It’s not just about writing cheques, it’s also thinking about what we’re purchasing,” he said.
“More funding sometimes results in significantly better outcomes. Sometimes more funding results in better compensation for a handful of health-care providers…I think part of the solution is found in us being more internationally competitive with our funding.”
Gratzer pointed to an innovative program developed by the U.K. government to make psychological therapies more affordable, as an example of where the federal government in Canada could play a role.
He also noted enhancing digital technologies in the space is another interesting path the Liberals could carve out.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Ottawa helped launch Wellness Together, an online portal that connects users to mental health resources, in response to a rise in mental health and substance use concerns. Last week, the government introduced PocketWell, a supplementary app that helps Canadians access supports and track their well-being.
Bennett says she’s excited to keep nurturing innovative ideas.
“Part of my role is finding out all the great things that are happening across the country and then for us to be able to magnify them, intensify them, amplify them and see if they can be scaled up to [meet] that goal of the most appropriate care, in the most appropriate place, by the most appropriate person, at the most appropriate time,” she said.
Bennett said the pandemic has created a new level of awareness of the need for improved mental health services and there’s a stronger appetite for change.
“I think there’s been a much more collective understanding of the need to support one another in terms of mental and emotional and spiritual health,” she said.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
Local Spotlight
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.