Skip to main content

Manitoba Advocate exposes gaping holes in Pallister's approach to mental and brain health in children and youth.


This morning, we sent out a press release about the report released today by the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth. Our press release is below: 

Manitoba Advocate Report Details Tragic Failures and Gaps in Mental Health

WINNIPEG – Manitoba Liberals say the Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth report into the death by suicide of a young man who was failed by multiple systems is a searing exposure of how the Pallister government is failing Manitobans – especially children and youth on mental health.

Matthew was bullied without mercy, his parents and CFS both did everything they could, even as other agencies and services closed their files on a young man who died too soon. The report describes a “patchwork” of services where a victim of bullying was suspended from school but the bullying was not addressed. 

“This is a heartbreaking story and it highlights the desperate need for better mental health supports and services in Manitoba,” said Dougald Lamont, Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party and MLA for St. Boniface.

“We want to express our deep condolences and extreme sadness to his family and friends over the tragic death of Matthew,” said Liberal Health Critic and MLA for River Heights, Jon Gerrard. “The Manitoba Advocate for Children and Youth is to be congratulated on a very thorough report, which makes it crystal clear that, except for the CFS agency involved, Manitoba’s health and social services fell short."

Manitoba Liberals say the Pallister government must take immediate steps and implement the Manitoba Advocate’s recommendations.  Manitoba Liberals added the province should cover psychotherapy under medicare and expand services for young people. They are also calling again on the government to immediately proclaim legislation that expands the powers of the Manitoba Advocate. The government has already passed the legislation, but has not gone through the final steps of making it law.

Under current law, the Manitoba Advocate can only investigate cases of children who are involved with Child and Family Services. The new legislation would allow the Advocate’s office to investigate cases involving all children in Manitoba.

“We are once again calling on the Pallister government to immediately proclaim phase 2 and phase 3 of this legislation, so every child in Manitoba can have a voice, not just those in CFS,” said Lamont.

“This is a tragic situation, and we all have a responsibility to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” said Gerrard. “Mental health care is health care, and we have to provide families and children with the coordinated support they need - whether it is in school, the health system or social services.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dougald Lamont speaks at Meth Forum last night to present positive ideas to address the epidemic, while exposing the lack of action by the Pallister Conservatives

Last night at the Notre Dame Recreation Centre in St. Boniface, at an Election Forum on the Meth Crisis in Manitoba, Dougald Lamont spoke eloquently about the severity of the meth epidemic and described the Liberal plan to address it.  The Liberal Plan will make sure that there is a single province-wide phone number for people, or friends of people, who need help dealing with meth to call (as there is in Alberta) and that there will be rapid access to a seamless series of steps - stabilization, detoxification, treatment, extended supportive housing etc so that people with meth addiction can be helped well and effectively and so that they can rebuild their lives.  The Liberal meth plan will be helped by our approach to mental health (putting psychological therapies under medicare), and to poverty (providing better support).  It will also be helped by our vigorous efforts to help young people understand the problems with meth in our education system and to provide alternative positive
3 comments
Read more

Manitoba Liberal accomplishments

  Examples of Manitoba Liberal accomplishments in the last three years Ensured that 2,000 Manitoba fishers were able to earn a living in 2020   (To see the full story click on this link ). Introduced a bill that includes retired teachers on the Pension Investment Board which governs their pension investments. Introduced amendments to ensure school aged children are included in childcare and early childhood education plans moving forward. Called for improvements in the management of the COVID pandemic: ·          We called for attention to personal care homes even before there was a single case in a personal care home. ·            We called for a rapid response team to address outbreaks in personal care homes months before the PCs acted.  ·          We called for a science-based approach to preparing schools to   improve ventilation and humidity long before the PCs acted. Helped hundreds of individuals with issues during the pandemic including those on social assistance
Post a Comment
Read more

The Indigenous Science Conference in Winnipeg June 14-16

  June 14 to 16, I spent three days at the Turtle Island Indigenous Science Conference.  It was very worthwhile.   Speaker after speaker talked of the benefits of using both western or mainstream science and Indigenous science.  There is much we can learn from both approaches.   With me above is Myrle Ballard, one of the principal organizers of the conference.  Myrle Ballard, from Lake St. Martin in Manitoba, worked closely with Roger Dube a professor emeritus at Rochester Institute of Technology, and many others to make this conference, the first of its kind, a success.  As Roger Dube, Mohawk and Abenaki, a physicist, commented "My feeling is that the fusion of traditional ecological knowledge and Western science methodology should rapidly lead the researchers to much more holistic solutions to problems."   Dr. Myrle Ballard was the first person from her community to get a PhD.  She is currently a professor at the University of Manitoba and the Director of Indigenous Science
Post a Comment
Read more