Tomorrow, I’m in B.C. Budget Lockup, where media and stakeholders are given an advance look at what the NDP Government plans to spend money on (or raise taxes on) in the coming fiscal year.
One thing I wish they’d invest more in is mental health. It was 18 months ago when ICBA President Chris Gardner and ICBA Wellness Ambassador Corey Hirsch teamed up to write this op-ed calling for far more investment in mental health support, intervention and help:
“…the numbers are sobering: 75 per cent of all suicide deaths are men, and in Canada one male takes their life every three hours.
“To make a dent in these statistics, we need both the federal and provincial governments to step up and make real, meaningful investments in mental health services. No level of government has all the answers. But they can do so much more to ensure that there is help before, during and after the moment of crisis. Too often, the warning signs are missed by a health care system that is already strained to the breaking point…
“Government must dedicate more resources to finding and equipping psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, therapists, nurses and other mental health professionals.”
Let’s hope someone in government was listening.
Each week, ICBA’s Jordan Bateman reflects on what we’ve learned as we participate in ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program. ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program is helping more than 100 companies and more than 10,000 construction professionals better understand mental health. This program is free for all ICBA members – check out icba.ca/wellness for details.
