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
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Iraq investigates a blast at a base of Iran-allied militias that killed 1. U.S. denies involvement
Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.
The House is on the brink of approving aid for Ukraine and Israel after months of struggle
The House is preparing in a rare Saturday session to approve US$95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies.
Local Spotlight
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.
Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly on a mission: N.S. student collecting books about women in sport for school library
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Marmot in the city: New resident of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale a 'rock star rodent'
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
Relocated seal returns to Greater Victoria after 'astonishing' 204-kilometre trek
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Ottawa barber shop steps away from Parliament Hill marks 100 years in business
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
'It was a special game': Edmonton pinball player celebrates high score and shout out from game designer
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
'How much time do we have?': 'Contamination' in Prairie groundwater identified
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.