View From the Legislature

This past Tuesday I welcomed two special guests to my office at the Manitoba Legislature.

The first, Mary Deacon, is the Chair of Bell Let’s Talk mental health initiative. This initiative is the largest ever Canadian corporate endeavor of its kind having donated more than $85 million to support mental health in the areas of research, program access, anti-stigma and workplace best practices.

Joining her was Clara Hughes, the six-time Olympic medalist who competed in both the summer and winter Olympics in the sports of cycling and speed skating. Clara has been a spokesperson and advocate for mental health issues speaking around Canada and sharing her personal journey and experience with mental health.

I appreciated the opportunity to meet with both Mary and Clara to hear of the work that they are doing around mental health and to share the perspective of Manitoba on both the successes that have been achieved and the challenges that remain on ending stigma and improving mental health services. Indeed, every province in Canada is challenged with improving access to mental health resources.

In Manitoba, we will receive in the next few months the results of a report that looks at bringing together mental health and addictions services in a way that not only allows the programs to be more integrated but also to ensure those who need the services are better able to navigate it as there is often a strong correlation between mental health and addictions. We spoke about the need for greater access to peer support for mental health and the desire to have healthcare workers operating as teams that include mental health support.

The Bell Let’s Talk initiative brings together a desire to reduce the stigma around mental health and the effort to raise funds to support mental health programs. On January 31st, Canadians are encouraged to join the conversation about mental health. On that day, Bell will be contributing 5¢ for every applicable text, call, tweet, social media video view and use of their Facebook frame or Snapchat filter. The goal is to raise funds but equally important, it is to raise awareness and understanding around the issues of mental health. Since it was initiated in 2010, the annual day has helped to shape a new understanding of the issues of mental health and has drawn spokespersons from all parts of Canada representing every background.

I appreciated the conversation that I was able to have with Mary Deacon and Clara Hughes about mental health initiatives. I would encourage you to join the conversation as well. If you would like more information about Bell Let’s Talk it can be found on letstalk.bell.ca.