Hon. Peter M. Boehm: Honourable senators, I rise today to join my friend and colleague Senator Marshall in recognizing and supporting Mental Health Week. Since I last spoke on this subject almost three years ago, there have been many developments: the pandemic, warfare and the resultant social and economic turbulence that made the world a more dangerous and tense place. People are losing trust in our institutions and each other. Indeed, apart from the obvious impact of these developments, one could assert that there has been an impact on our collective mental health and, in today’s parlance, we can also assert that none of us are immune.

Mental Health Week is a vital reminder that we must all think about mental health and fight any related stigma year-round. This year’s theme as set by the Canadian Mental Health Association, or CMHA, is empathy.

Helen Fishburn, the CEO of the CMHA Waterloo Wellington — my original home area — has written that we are now transitioning to a “learning to live with COVID” phase after two years of this pandemic. This shift in messaging presents challenges, as it requires resilience and adaptability after two long years of understandable fear and distrust.

Anxiety, stress and fear are set to continue over the coming months, and the lingering effects on our mental health will last much longer. Whatever the new normal will be, it is important for all of us to practise empathy. Certainly for us as senators, as the managers we are, we must practise empathy with our teams to build and maintain the safest possible work environments both in our own offices and in the Senate as a whole. We must also be prepared to seek mental health support for our teams and, indeed, for ourselves.

When I spoke on this subject three years ago, I referenced the Senate’s nascent Mental Health Advisory Committee, which comprises senators and staff colleagues in their offices and the administration. Championed by our Speaker, the committee has benefited from the work of its chair, Christopher Reed, the participation of human resources staff and the guidance of Senators Kutcher and Marshall. I am proud to work with all of them on this committee.

Soon, colleagues, you will all receive copies of the Mental Health Handbook for Parliamentarians and Staff, developed by Senator Kutcher and MP Ya’ara Saks. There will be more to come.

Honourable senators, good mental health need not be an elusive concept. It is certainly not without its challenges, but if we all do our part, individually and collectively, we can mitigate those challenges. Thank you.