Toward Recovery & Well-being – A Framework for A Mental Health Strategy for Canada
Foreword
On behalf of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, we are extremely pleased to present this document to everyone across the country who has been directly or indirectly touched by a mental health problem or illness, and to everyone concerned with mental health issues. We believe that this in fact describes just about every single person living in Canada.It has often been – rightly – said that there is no health without mental health. For far too long, this simple truth has been obscured by the lack of public discussion of mental health issues. Despite important progress in recent years, the stigma that still attaches to mental illness, and the discrimination that continues to afflict so many of those with a lived experience of it, remains an important barrier to progress.
The work undertaken by the Mental Health Commission since its creation in the spring of 2007 by the Government of Canada, has helped accelerate efforts across the country to redress this situation. The publication of Toward Recovery and Well-Being marks an important step forward not only for the Mental Health Commission but for people everywhere in Canada.
We are enormously encouraged by the degree of support for the work of the Commission to date and by the growing momentum for change. Over the coming months, we look forward to working with people from all corners of the country to lay a solid foundation for a genuine, integrated mental health system that is truly person-centred and comprehensive in scope.
Michael Kirby
CHAIR
Michael Howlett
President and CEO
Howard Chodos
Director ,
Mental Health Strategy
