Canada’s Mental Health Crisis: The Dire Consequences of Chronic Underinvestment

The dire consequences of chronic underinvestment for years in the field of mental health have been unfolding in Canada, which experts saw as a “time bomb”.

There are many indications for this situation in the emergency services, especially in major cities, with the significant increase in hospital consultations, and the high rates of suicide and addiction.

“The number of young people suffering from mental health and addiction problems in Canada is steadily increasing,” says Pugh Burgundavag, an emergency physician at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
“We are trying to do our best, but our offer is very limited,” he added.

In Toronto, the situation has become so bad that former mayor John Tory called for a “national summit on mental health,” describing these problems in the country as an “epidemic,” according to “French.”

In the streets or subway stations in this major and very modern Canadian city that is the front of the country economically and culturally, many wander around staring into the void, or shouting incomprehensible words.
Newspaper pages are filled with stories directly related to mental health and addiction problems. A phenomenon that also affects major cities in the neighboring United States, but it is less clear so far compared to what is happening on the Canadian side.

– Fatal error

“Historically, we’ve had a lack of funding for mental health. In Canada, for every dollar we spend on health care, seven or eight cents go toward funding mental health services,” says David Gratzer of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, which is much lower than it is. in most other developed countries.
“We made a huge mistake in the 1960s and 1970s when we closed off a lot of hospital beds for people with mental illnesses,” the psychiatrist adds.

In Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, more than half of young people say they suffer from a mental disorder. The demand for psychological services has increased by 50 per cent.
“Many people have great needs and they don’t receive the care they need,” Gratzer explains, pointing out that “substances used on the street have changed, particularly methamphetamine.”

So, faced with the shortcomings of public services, charitable organizations take responsibility, but they are also unable to deal with the influx of people affected by this situation.

Jacques Charlan of the psychological helpline Ecout Untrade describes the situation as a “time bomb”. “We will have to take care of people with psychological problems and stop waiting for them to be admitted to hospital,” he says.
“And it will take more money to do more prevention,” adds the man, who has recently returned to service to help meet the scale of needs.

Waiting lists

“We are living in a real crisis because it affects all aspects of the population, and for young people, the numbers are even more alarming,” says Nzinga Walker, executive director of Stela’s Place.

Close to Toronto’s Chinatown, this organization welcomes young people between the ages of 16 and 29 in mental distress, free of charge, without an appointment.
“There are no services available. Everywhere they put you on a waiting list, and when someone is going through a crisis, the last thing they want is to be put on the waiting list,” Walker explains.

In this organization, which was established in 2013 and recently moved to a site that previously housed a candy factory, counseling sessions and group programs for young people can be provided, and counseling with psychiatrists.

Kat Romero admits that the association “literally changed her life”, after months she spent without finding help.
“I was lost, and they taught me different types of coping mechanisms to help me deal with crisis situations and maintain my daily mental health,” the young woman says.
Today, Kat helps the center set up programs.

The organization also trains young people to help people in ethnic minority communities.
“I know a lot of people who are in difficult situations, so the program helps me understand them better,” says Chantelle Cruza Werfan. “I can go back to my community to help people in crisis.”

“For us people of color, these resources are hard to access,” she says, expressing hope that this will change because “the issue of mental health is finally getting real attention.”

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