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Context: House Hansard - 149 - Jan/30/23

Mrs. Élisabeth Brière (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, Lib.)

Jan/30/23 1:14:44 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-35

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. Like her, I have been able to benefit from child care for my three boys. In fact, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the excellent educators at the Carrosse-Citrouille early childhood centre for taking such good care of my children. As my colleague pointed out, Quebec has had a universal low-fee child care program since 1997. Econometric studies have shown a positive correlation between this program and women's participation in the workforce. I would like to know whether my colleague agrees that this enables women to go back to work or to school. We need to invest in women. It can improve their financial situation and perhaps even get them out of an abusive environment.

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Context: House Hansard - 149 - Jan/30/23

Mrs. Élisabeth Brière (Sherbrooke, Lib.)

Jan/30/23 2:05:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, five members of the Sherbrooke Phoenix made their mark at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Two Canadians, forward Joshua Roy and defenceman Tyson Hinds, along with their coach, Stéphane Julien, proudly represented Sherbrooke at this major hockey tournament, winning the gold medal with Team Canada. Two other Phoenix players, David Spacek and Jakub Brabenec, also stood out, winning the silver medal with the Czech team. Congratulations to all the medal winners and all tournament participants. Sherbrooke hockey fans are lucky to have the Phoenix, because they can gather every week to watch some of the world's best players in the electrifying atmosphere of the Palais des Sports. Together, let's continue to support and improve our national sport.

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Context: House Hansard - 149 - Jan/30/23

Mrs. Élisabeth Brière (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, Lib.)

Jan/30/23 6:53:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, even though it is late, I want to thank the member for Courtenay—Alberni for giving me the opportunity to speak to this important matter and explain to the House what we are doing to support mental health and health care services for people who use substances. Mental health is health. This is why we have made historic investments to support mental health care and substance use care needs, including $5 billion over 10 years, to improve Canadians' access to mental health and substance use services, directly to provinces and territories through bilateral agreements. These agreements currently provide the provinces and territories with $600 million per year until 2027. That money helps expand access to mental health care, addiction services for youth, and integrated services for people with complex needs. It helps improve access to proven community mental health care models and culturally appropriate interventions linked to primary care services. Federal, provincial and territorial health and mental health ministers agree on the importance of promoting mental wellness and addressing gaps in mental health and addiction services and recovery. In November, the minister met her counterparts across the country to discuss these key points. Through these bilateral agreements, the FPT health and mental health ministers are working together to improve access to evidence-supported mental health and addiction services and supports for Canadians and their families. We also acted quickly to respond to the increased demand for mental health services and supports arising from the pandemic. Early on in the pandemic, we launched Wellness Together Canada to provide free, confidential mental health support online 24/7 to people across Canada in both official languages. Over 3.1 million people have accessed Wellness Together online, and the app has been downloaded over 35,000 times. Budget 2022 will provide $140 million for the Wellness Together Canada portal so it can continue to provide Canadians with tools and services to support their mental health and well-being. We recognize that some communities experienced a disproportionate impact on their mental health because of the pandemic. We are providing $100 million over three years to support projects that promote mental health and an additional $50 million over two years for mental health programs that support populations at high risk of experiencing pandemic-related trauma. In addition, budget 2022 will provide $227.6 million over two years to maintain trauma-informed, indigenous-led, culturally appropriate services to improve mental wellness and continue to implement distinctions-based mental health and wellness strategies. However, we know more needs to be done to ensure Canadians can access the high quality mental health care and substance use services they need and deserve, both now and in the future. The Prime Minister will be meeting with premiers next week to ensure the sustainability of our health care system for years to come and that further investments deliver tangible, positive outcomes.

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Context: House Hansard - 149 - Jan/30/23

Mrs. Élisabeth Brière

Jan/30/23 6:58:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we remain committed to continuing to do everything we can to support the mental health of Canadians. As I noted earlier, in addition to a range of existing federal supports, provinces and territories are now receiving $600 million from the federal government to support mental health and substance use services on an annual basis, which will continue until 2027. We also know that much more needs to be done to ensure that Canadians have access to the mental health supports they need, and we are committed to providing additional federal funding to support these essential services. That is why the Prime Minister will be meeting with the premiers next week to work collaboratively with the provinces to ensure that the additional investments produce tangible, positive outcomes.

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