Mental Healthcare in Ontario

By Faiz Jan, Amy Nguyen, Parnia Zahraei, Mariam El Sahhar and Gareth Dunbar

This report evaluates the status and need for mental healthcare in Ontario and in Canada and   assesses the viability of certain policy that could be implemented to solve  the issues presented. The investigation uses data collected from external resources along with a study conducted by the Union  to come to a conclusion on practical reforms, some old and some new, about the problem at hand.

Every year, Canadians spend $6.3 billion in out-of-pocket expenses and 45.8% of students have said that they have needed access to mental healthcare but were unable to. It is vital that the issue of mental wellbeing is taken seriously and treated as a reasonable medical treatment under Ontario and Canadian Law. This report evaluates the reasons why mental healthcare subsidization is a necessity for students and citizens and the benefits it brings both in health and in economics.

The report identifies 4 steps that should be taken to tackle the numerous issues surrounding the mental wellness of individuals and students.

1. All psychotherapy, mental health medications, psychosocial treatments and brain stimulation therapies should be covered by Canadian healthcare systems. Total costs for the implementation of this are estimated to be $0.90 per person.
2. Local Governments ought to offer free support group activities in their cities, lead by mental healthcare professionals, with 1 group for every 100,000 people.
3. The Federal Government should devote at least $1 billion in order to train mental health professionals across the country and to mandate training for peace officers, teachers and other healthcare professionals in a curriculum prepared by mental health experts.
4. There should be mandated annual or bi-annual mental health checkups (psychotherapy sessions) for students from the ages of 12 - 21 to reduce stigma by making mental healthcare commonplace and giving individuals a better understanding of the tools available in mental healthcare systems.

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