Canada’s mental health system is broken

Changes, like a 988 national hotline for crisis intervention, could make all the difference.

Canada is the only G7 country that does not have a national suicide prevention strategy. Tellingly, the word 'suicide' doesn’t appear anywhere in the mandate letter for the federal Minister of Health Patty Hajdu, pictured May 26, 2020, writes Kathleen Finlay. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY KATHLEEN FINLAY

July 6, 2020

Calling 911 can save lives. But for some experiencing a mental health crisis, it can also be life-ending. That should never happen. It’s another symptom of a broken mental health system that needs radical surgery. The evidence mounts each day, as does the need for a comprehensive federal response...

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