moved for leave to introduce Bill C-414, An Act to amend the Canada Health Act (mental, addictions and substance use health services).

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and privilege to rise today to table this landmark legislation, the mental health and substance use parity act, on World Mental Health Day. If passed, the bill will amend the Canada Health Act to expand the definition of insured services to include community-based mental health addictions and substance use services.

Currently, provincial and territorial health plans are only required to cover mental health and substance use health services provided by physicians or in hospitals and deemed medically necessary. As a result, many services like counselling or psychotherapy are not covered under public health insurance plans. Without public coverage, many Canadians do not get the care need.

Again, this landmark legislation would begin to address the disparity between mental and physical health in our health care system by creating a federal requirement for provinces and territories to include coverage of community-based supports in their health insurance plans and to ensure that timely, inclusive and accessible mental health and substance use care is enshrined into law.

I want to thank the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, the Canadian Mental Health Association and all those advocating for mental health parity and spreading the message that mental health is health, including my NDP colleagues who are wholeheartedly behind the bill.

I want to thank my colleague and friend, the member for Hamilton Centre, for his important work in this area and for seconding the bill. I hope all members will get behind it.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

Gord Johns

$597,018.00