The Mental Health Commission of Canada: the first five years
| Date | 30 November 2012 |
| Published date | 30 November 2012 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13619321211289290 |
| Pages | 221-228 |
| Author | David Goldbloom,Louise Bradley |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
The Mental Health Commission of Canada:
the first five years
David Goldbloom and Louise Bradley
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to examine the progress of the Mental Health Commission of Canada
(MHCC) over the first five years of its existence toward stated goals while existing outside the
constitutional framework of health care funding.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a review of the outputs of the MHCC with emphasis on
its first-ever mental health strategy for Canada, knowledge exchange network, anti-stigma initiatives,
randomized controlled trial of housing-first initiatives for the homeless mentally ill, as well as other
completed projects.
Findings – Consultation and collaboration are essential aspects of working successfully with people
with lived experience of mental illness, their families, health professionals, and governments. At the
same time, when expectations are high, needs are great, and opinions are varied, disappointmentand
frustration are inevitable.
Research limitations/implications – Although the MHCC initiatives include the largest single funded
research project in mental health in Canadian history, and evaluation is built into other initiatives, the
political dimension of its work does not lend itself to research evaluation.
Practical implications – The creation of an organization outside the constitutional framework of health
care funding may allow for a catalytic role in precipitating change.
Social implications – The emphasis on anti-stigma campaigns targeted at defined populations
(youth, health professionals, workforce, journalists) may combat the discrimination people with mental
illnesses and their families experience.
Originality/value – The paper shows that the Canadian experience is, to date, largely undescribed in
the peer-reviewed literature and may influence other jurisdictions. One of its interventions is already
being replicated internationally.
Keywords Stigma, National strategy, Knowledge exchange,Homelessness, Mental health reform,
Mental health services, Canada, Public policy, Health care
Paper type Case study
1. Origins
The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) was established in September 2007,
created several months earlier by the Federal Government as a not-for-profit national
corporation at arm’s-length from Health Canada, its principal funder. Recommendations for
the creation of such a new organization were embedded in the Senate Standing Committee
on Social Affairs, Science and Technology’s report on mental health in Canada, entitled
‘‘Out of the Shadows At Last’’ (Canada, Parliament, Senate, 2006). This report, the most
comprehensive study of mental health in Canada for many decades, articulated what many
people with lived experience of mental illness, family members, health care providers, social
service agencies, and researchers already knew – the absence of an integrated system of
care, the absence of a national strategy on mental health and mental illness, and the
overwhelming burden of stigma and discrimination, among other findings.
DOI 10.1108/13619321211289290 VOL. 17 NO. 4 2012, pp. 221-228, QEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1361-9322
j
MENTAL HEALTHREVIEW JOURNAL
j
PAGE 221
David Goldbloom is based
at the Mental Health
Commission of Canada,
and at the Centre for
Addiction and Mental
Health, Toronto, Canada.
Louise Bradley is based at
the Mental Health
Commission of Canada,
Ottawa, Canada.
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