The federal government is providing $110 million to the Mental Health Commission of Canada to establish research projects aimed at helping homeless Canadians suffering from mental illness, announced Finance Minister Jim Flaherty yesterday in the 2008 federal budget.
“Very little is known about the most effective ways of providing services to people living with mental illness who are homeless,” said Michael Kirby, chair, MHCC. “What they require is a complex basket of services, including supportive housing, access to primary healthcare and a wide range of other supports.”
The projects will run over four years in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montréal and Moncton, gathering best-practices information on how to help these vulnerable populations.
While news of the investment was received positively by members of the healthcare community, some said the federal budget was thin on healthcare initiatives.
Dr. Brian Day, president of the Canadian Medical Association, called the budget a “missed opportunity” to invest in key healthcare issues, such as access to care and a shortage of physicians.
“Almost five million Canadians do not have a family doctor. That’s a staggering amount and it’s a problem that government must start to address,” said Dr. Day. “Canada would need 26,000 more doctors just to get the average in countries like Britain, the U.S. and Australia.”
But he applauded the government’s decision to accelerate federal Gas Tax Fund transfers to $2 billion to support municipal transit infrastructure projects designed to improve air quality. “These are positive steps toward improving the health of many Canadians,” he said. “But much more work needs to be done and Canada needs many more doctors to do it.”
For more federal budget coverage, click here to read our special online section, Budget 2008: Special Report.
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