The government of Canada will be investing $3.7 million towards Black mental support

BY PAUL JUNOR

The issue of Black mental health has been front and centre in the Black community, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic which has exacerbated pre-existing health inequities, social disparities, and economic inequalities.

The federal government announced on February 8^th, 2022, that it will be providing support to Black Canadians in a press release by the Public Health Agency of Canada which can be seen on the website:www.newswire.ca. The announcement made by Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and Associate Minister of Health indicated that $800,000 will go towards the funding of two projects.

The Harriet Tubman Institute, an interdisciplinary research institute with York University will receive $400,000. The project will analyse racism in academia, study the mental health of Black university students, and develop relevant tools to support university students from Black communities. There will be the implementation of an applied research program that will involve the collaboration of public social and health community services to focus on Black students at York University.

The press release states, “By focusing on the needs of communities and on equity towards the target audience, this project is part of an approach to fight anti-Black racism and its expressions in our post-secondary institutions.”

TAIBU Community Health Centre, which provides primary health care and related services for Black population across the Greater Toronto Area also received  $400,000. The project at TAIBU will build capacity within Black communities by increasing knowledge of mental health, the inequalities and social determinants of health, and culturally responsive approaches. The intended purpose of this project is to improve the awareness of an Afrocentric perspective; and create positive change in policies and practices that impacts the mental health and well-being of Black Canadians.

The funding came from the Government of Canada’s Mental Health of Black Canadians (MHBC) fund, which supports community-based programs in mental health promotion to increase health equity and address the underlying determinants of health.

The class-action lawsuit by Black civil servants has drawn attention to the issue of the mental health of Black federal employees. They have been calling on the government to create a mental health program that would provide culturally sensitive counselling services to Black workers who have experienced racial trauma in the workplace due to systemic discrimination. It can be seen at www.blackclassaction.ca

The 2022 federal budget proposed to provide $3.7 million over four years, starting in 2022-23, to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat for Black-let engagement, design and implementation of a Mental Health Fund for Black federal public servants.

According to the budget document, the 2022 Public Service Employee Survey showed that Black civil servants feel less involved in the workplace – a key component of a health and safe work environment. Details of the budget are on the website:https:budget.gc.ca.

In response to this funding, the Black Class Action (BCA) sent an email to its members on Friday, April 8^th, 2022, which states, “While this represents a step in the right direction, the measure is lacking in resources and details.” It notes that the

$925,000 that the government has allocated to design and implement a national mental program is not enough, and that the time period of four years to accomplish this should be shortened.

The email states explicitly, “Workers need help right now and cannot put their mental health issues on hold.” The email states further, “We are calling on the government to provide more financial resources for this plan and to implement it quickly. The pandemic and global conflict has shown us the government can move quickly when they see a crisis. This budget is carefully worded to delay any serious and urgent implementation of a response to the mental health crisis facing Black workers in the public service.”

It calls on its members to email Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to request more funding. Email: chrystia.freeland@parl.gc.ca