Although he acknowledges that there is still a lot of work to be done in mental health, Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant assured that the government has managed to reverse the trend.
He points to the decrease in waiting lists for access to services in recent months as proof.
In May 2024, there were 16,605 people waiting to receive mental health services, according to the government’s dashboard. Three months later, that number has dropped to 14,585. While the figure remains significant, the minister is confident that it is a trend in the right direction.
“Week after week, we see the decrease,” the minister said in an interview with The Canadian Press in his office at the National Assembly.
Carmant maintains that it’s the addition of walk-in services that has done its job.
“The deployment of this measure will allow us to continue to see an improvement in waiting lists,” he said.
He gave the example of open areas, which are resources for young people aged 12 to 25, their families and loved ones, offering various front-line services. The minister indicated that there are about 40 of them in Quebec.
“The strategy is to open the front doors and once the person knocks on the door, make sure to accompany them to the right service,” said Carmant.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for mental health care, and although it is now behind us, the minister says its effects have not completely faded.
“The needs are still there. The increase in demand is still there. I would say that the world has changed since the pandemic. People are more vocal about their mental health needs, but people are also more impatient,” explained the minister.
Asylum seekers and mental health
Quebec Premier François Legault has constantly hammered home that the federal government must better distribute asylum seekers across the rest of Canada.
In June, he made a “certain link” between “the explosion in the number of asylum seekers” and “the explosion in the number of homeless people and people with mental health problems.”
Asked in the interview whether it was necessary to reduce the number of asylum seekers in Quebec to reduce waiting lists, the minister answered no.
“Not at all. We want to improve access to the service. That is the priority, and it is not something that I take into account in my decisions,” he said. “It’s certain that if there are fewer immigrants with mental health problems, it will help (the situation).”
$11 billion deficit
Carmant also said that his government’s desire to tighten public finances after its historic $11 billion deficit will have no impact on mental health services.
“Most of the things we have done are related to a reorganization of services,” explained the minister.
He gave the example of the deployment of walk-in services in CLSCs.
He also pointed out that positions are funded, but they are slow to be filled due to the shortage of workers.
“It’s more of a human resources issue than a funding issue,” the minister said.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews