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House Hansard - 113

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 19, 2022 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 113 - Oct/19/22
Ms. Soraya Martinez Ferrada (Hochelaga, Lib.)
  • Oct/19/22 2:17:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, October 10 was World Mental Health Day. We are quite vocal about physical health. We are proud to say that we eat well, exercise and take care of ourselves, but when it comes to talking about mental health, we withdraw. We are embarrassed because it is still perceived as a weakness, something that is taboo in society and sometimes even within families and among colleagues. One in three Canadians is affected. It is not okay to have to wait months for counselling. It is not okay that family doctors do not have enough training to help their patients. It is not okay that in Quebec, there are roughly 15,000 people on the waiting list. We would never tell a patient with a broken leg to come back in six months to get a cast. Unfortunately, even today, mental health care is reserved for those who can afford to pay for it. We are in the midst of a public health crisis that was further amplified by the pandemic. We all know someone in our circle or in our family who is suffering. We all have a responsibility to act. A healthy population is a happy population.
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