Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

FURSTENAU – The case for adding mental health to MSP


Last week was Mental Health Week, and Friday was Child and Youth Mental Health Day. Youth mental health is a root cause for many of the challenges that we see with the deaths from an illicit toxic drug supply. What doesn’t exist for a lot of people is access to mental health services when they need it, where they need it.

 

A few weeks ago, the Premier said he was looking for ideas from all parties in the House. We have put an idea forward about how to ensure that there is accessible mental health care for everybody in British Columbia - that is to bring psychologists under the Medical Services Plan so that they are part of the primary care network and so that nobody in B.C. has to wonder how they’re going to get access to mental health care in this province.

 

Many people who I have spoken to say that one of the biggest barriers they face is being able to afford to make an appointment with a counsellor in the moment they need it.

 

When that isn’t available to people, what we find is that people are in crisis when they finally seek care for their mental health struggles. They end up in hospitals, or in psychiatric units. They end up costing the system quite a bit more than had they had the proactive ability to be able to get the counselling when they need it and where they need it.



I will continue to advocate to ensure that every British Columbian can have immediate, no-barrier access to mental health care when they need it. 


---------------------------------------

Last week also ended with the news of leaked reports from the BC Centre for Disease Control, which show that there is a great deal of data that the government has been collecting that they have not made public. There has been a lot of media attention, including articles linked below.


In a democracy, and during a health emergency, government should not be keeping data and information from the public.  I hope to see a greater level of transparency from this government moving forward - it's essential for building and maintaining trust, and it's a key part of how we as citizens can make informed decisions.   

 

 

Sonia Furstenau … is the MLA for Cowichan Valley, and Leader of the BC Greens

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FORSETH -- Given the noted infractions of this agreement with OneBC leader Dallas Brodie, I request the Party immediate suspend the leadership campaign of Yuri Fulmer

I have personally emailed the following to the Board and Administration of the Conservative Party of BC:   TODAY (03/30) Yuri Fulmer, a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of BC, made a pact with ONEBC leader Dallas Broldie, that if he is elected will commit the Conservative Party to the following. Specifically, the pact states : This Memorandum of Understanding outlines the definitive electoral and governing alliance that will be executed upon Yuri Fulmer’s election as Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia OneBC Party commits to not nominating or authorizing candidates in 88 of British Columbia’s 93 electoral districts. In exchange, the Conservative Party of BC, under the leadership of Yuri Fulmer, commits to not nominating or authorizing candidates in five (5) specific electoral districts . OneBC will be the sole standard-bearer for the right in those five districts. The specific ridings will be determined through mutual negotiation and fin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Delays to the replacement of the Red Bridge? Kamloops North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer says they are, “Totally Unacceptable.”

I think it’s totally unacceptable that on one hand the Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MoTT) is saying they’re going to be responsible for putting together multiple replacement options with public engagement, and then in the same breath they're saying, ‘Oh, and by the way, we're going to start our geotechnical environmental and archaeological site assessments on both sides of the river, possibly beginning this summer.’ According to Stamer, that should already have been done. “Obviously, we're pretty sure it will be in the same location because there's really no other place to put it. So, if you're going to put in a bridge, you think that at least you'd be doing the archaeological assessments first off”, stated Stamer.   “If it's determined it has to be a free-span bridge, and it can't have anything or very minimal impact in the riverbed, they should already be determining that. It would help in the design, wouldn't it?” Stamer indicated...
Post a Comment
Read more

Your government has a gambling problem (Troy Media)

Provinces call it “revenue,” but it looks a lot like exploitation of the marginalized The odds of winning Lotto Max are about 1 in 33 million. You’re statistically more likely to be struck by lightning than to win it. But your government is betting that statistics won’t hold you back; they’re counting on it. Across Canada, provincial governments not only regulate gambling, they also maintain a monopoly on lottery and gaming by owning and operating the entire legal market. That means every scratch card is government-issued, gambling odds are government-set, casino ads are government-funded and lottery billboards are government-paid. And these are not incidental government activities. They generate significant revenues that governments have powerful incentives to expand, not constrain. It would be one thing for our governments to encourage us to engage in healthy activities. We can quibble about whether the government should be trying to convince us to be more active or eat more vegetabl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more