Liberals unveil mental health pledge

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The Liberals have laid out their plan to improve New Brunswickers’ access to mental health services, pledging $4.7 million annually in new spending on several initiatives, including doubling clinical psychologist residencies, bringing more mental health workers into schools and creating a mental health advocate . office.

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In an announcement Thursday morning at the Kingswood Recreation Centre, just south of Fredericton, Liberal Leader Susan Holt said the Progressive Conservatives under Blaine Higgs have “abandoned” people who need mental health treatment and that has led to “horrific results”.

Asked to respond to that comment, Higgs replied that “I think you’ll find that we’ve introduced programs to deal with mental health issues very quickly” that have reduced waiting times by 75 to 80 percent.

Earlier this year, the PCs said that of the nine goals they had set to improve mental health services, eight had been met, including more beds to treat patients with mental illness, the establishment of an addiction and psychiatric helpline and more mobile trauma units.

While Holt agreed that some progress had been made, “the way the government has approached this did not respond to … the extent of the need in the community.”

“Unfortunately, we have more and more people who need access to care and the measures that the government has taken have not moved us forward,” she said. “Waiting lists are getting longer and waiting times are getting longer.

Holt’s plan specifically focuses on youth mental health and was welcomed by Hanwell-New Maryland Liberal candidate Cindy Miles, who joined her in the announcement. Miles has long been an advocate for mental health issues and othersne of the co-founders of Dots NB, a provincial non-profit organization committed to achieving excellence in children’s mental health.

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“We have seen access to mental health services deteriorate and no meaningful action taken to meet the needs of New Brunswickers,” Holt said. “Mental health has often been treated as an afterthought, a sidebar, when it is central to our individual health and our health system and needs to be treated as such.”

Holt announced that if elected, a Liberal government would:

• Provide 30 grants to build a “community-based case management system” across the province, with outreach workers to provide front-line services, including to youth and in schools. She estimates it will cost about $1.7 million a year when fully implemented and hopes to have 15 of the 30 grants “out the door” in the 2025-2026 fiscal year;
• Double the number of residencies for clinical psychologists to build a “pipeline” of expertise. Holt estimates it will cost about $300,000 a year;
• Proceed with “urgency” on current plan to build provincial youth treatment facility in Moncton. That facility was announced by PCs a few years ago, but is still in the design phase and isn’t expected to be open until 2026. Holt said it doesn’t need new money because it’s already been budgeted for;
• Expand and “advance” the mental health court system, including hiring new psychiatrists, to reduce the number of people “pushed into the prison system.” The Liberals estimate it will cost $2.4 million over four years;
• Create the Office of an “Independent and Impartial” Mental Health Ombudsman. A few years ago, all 49 MPs unanimously agreed that the idea was a good one, but the Liberal-led proposal they passed was not binding, and the Higgs government chose not to create the position or fund the position. Holt said it will cost about $300,000 a year.

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Holt also questions PC’s claim that the already-delayed youth mental health facility slated to open in Moncton in 2026 will be ready on time, saying it has already been plagued by “bureaucratic delays” and noting there are “no shovels into the ground.”

The Department of Health recently told the Brunswick News that the project is in the design stage, but is slated to open in 2026.

Higgs referred to that facility in his reply to Holt and then turned.

“But I think the point I would make most about this is that we’ve spent the last little while looking at mental health and addiction services,” he said. “And that doesn’t mean a life of drugs.” That means a recovery plan.

Asked for his thoughts on the Liberals’ plan, Greens leader David Coon called it “inadequate”.

“It’s a crisis right now,” Coon said. “It is very urgent to ensure that young people in particular – and not just young people – get the mental health help they need. We need mental health teams in our schools now.”

– With files from John Chilibeck and Julia Sheehan

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