NDP Mental Health and Harm Reduction critic reacts to Budget 2024

In reaction to the federal budget, NDP Mental Health and Harm Reduction critic Gord Johns made the following statement:

“The chronic underfunding of mental health care has had a devastating effect on millions of Canadians for decades. The need for mental health care is particularly acute as we cope with today's cost-of-living crisis and following the isolation of a global pandemic. The current mental health crisis disproportionately affects seniors, youth and Indigenous peoples.

The historic announcement of new funding for youth mental health funding is welcome news. New Democrats have been fighting for this for many years and will remain vigilant to ensure that it goes directly to community-based organizations and those working on the front lines of Canada's mental health crisis.
Successive Conservative and Liberal governments have refused to recognize that Canadians should have the same access to care when seeking help for anxiety, depression or mood disorders as they do for a broken limb or a ruptured appendix. New Democrats stand with the Canadian Mental Health Association in its call for parity of mental health with physical health in our universal health care system. A plan to implement parity is urgently required.”