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News Release: October 21, 2019

Region of Peel and Ministry of Health host Mental Health and Addictions Roundtable

Brampton, ON. (Oct. 21, 2019) – The Region of Peel and the Ministry of Health through the Associate Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions jointly convened a roundtable to discuss Peel’s mental health and addictions system on Oct. 21, 2019. The roundtable discussed what is required to support over 276,000 people in Peel who will experience mental health and/or addictions disorders in their lifetime.

Attendees included Ontario’s Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, the Hon. Michael A. Tibollo, Solicitor General the Hon. Sylvia Jones, MPP Rudy Cuzzetto, MPP Natalia Kusendova, MPP Sheref Sabawy, MPP Amarjot Sandhu, Peel Regional Chair Nando Iannicca, Peel Regional Councillors Johanna Downey and Martin Medeiros and representatives from the Mississauga Halton and Central West LHINs, Peel Regional Police, Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Peel Dufferin, Services and Housing in the Province (SHIP), Peel Children’s Centre/Nexus Youth Services, Trillium Health Partners, William Osler Health System, Punjabi Community Health Services, Peel Addictions Assessment and Referral Centre and Hope Place Centres.

The meeting resulted from the Region of Peel’s delegation at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in August with the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions where mental health and addictions system integration and underfunding issues were discussed. Per capita funding for mental health and addictions services in Peel is amongst the lowest in the province, despite the rapidly growing population.

“Youth in Peel may wait 12-24 months to access mental health and addictions services, that is a long time for someone who needs help,” said Nando Iannicca, Chair, Peel Regional Council. “We are glad Minister Tibollo and our community partners participated in the roundtable. It allowed us to discuss how to create a more connected system that would meet the needs of Peel residents.”

At the roundtable the group discussed issues related to funding, service integration, technology, access and cultural sensitivity in the mental health and addictions service sector. Various local successes and solutions were also discussed. As an outcome, the Region of Peel will be working with community partners to prepare a report on the sector in Peel that will be shared with the Ontario government.

“There are many examples of local successes in helping people in need of mental health or additions support,” said Iannicca. “However, we need to work with our partners, including those from the provincial government, to ensure a well-funded and integrated system is available for those in need.”

“By working together, we can better support Ontarians facing mental health and addictions challenges,” said Michael Tibollo, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. "Our government has consulted with hundreds of mental health organizations, frontline staff providing services, hospitals, advocates, experts, and people with lived experience to develop a plan to improve mental health services in Ontario. We're continuing to invest more in these important services and we'll continue to listen to the people who are impacted the most. I want to thank Peel Regional Chair, Mr. Nando Iannicca, and everyone in attendance at today’s roundtable, for bringing attention to the mental health and addictions concerns in the Region of Peel."

Photos from the event

Media Contacts

Scott Fry
Communications Specialist
Region of Peel
905-791-7800 ext. 4329