Statement from Ontario PC MPP Lisa MacLeod on the Minister’s dismissal of her question on mental health

Dec 1, 2017 @ 08:12

“This morning (November 30), I asked a very serious question about mental health. I asked the government if they would match the Ontario PC’s commitment to invest $1.9 billion into mental health care. The Minister of Health responded by making a joke about how a bank from 1893 in Kansas City, Missouri shared the name of our platform.

As someone who has been very public about my own challenges with mental health, I was appalled by how the Minister of Health responded. It was dismissive. It was insulting. Not only to myself, but to the countless others who are struggling with mental illness.

Last Saturday, when the Ontario PCs unveiled our five priorities in the People’s Guarantee, I sat in the front-row and wept openly as our Leader Patrick Brown spoke about mental health. I was comforted by two of my colleagues, Todd Smith and Sam Oosterhoff, who sat with me until I regained my composure.

This is an issue that I am very passionate about, and I expected better from our Health Minister.

I would like to see the Minister of Health apologize to everyone suffering in silence across Ontario with mental illness.”

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