Statement made on 03 February 2009 by Senator Joan Cook (retired)
Hon. Joan Cook:
Honourable senators, I rise today to commend the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health for launching a landmark initiative on October 20, 2008, aimed at enhancing the mental health literacy of Canadians.
Mental health literacy is defined as the knowledge and skills that enable people to access, understand and apply information for mental health. The results of the research by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health will be compared with that of other nations to see how well Canadians fare. This project intends to help those of us affected by mental health issues to find and efficiently access services.
As many of us know, through enhancing the mental health literacy of Canadians, we can help to ensure early recognition of mental health issues, improve intervention and make a significant reduction in the stigma and discrimination that still surrounds mental illness. This study hopes to improve the capacity of our mental health systems, programs and services that are life long, cross-cultural and life affirming. I look forward to informing honourable senators of the results of this research.
Honourable senators, I urge you to support policies and programs that promote mental health literacy in Canada.