As Canada and other governments around the world create plans for vaccine distribution, Canada is looking to tackle other health issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former Innovation Minister and Liberal MP Navdeep Bains says confronting the mounting mental health crisis is a top goal for 2021.
Whether it's the suffering businesses in his community or behaviour changes in his children who have been isolated from friends and classmates since the pandemic started, Bains has experienced the consequences of the pandemic firsthand.
"I'm hearing more and more stories and frankly, personally, I can relate to that," Bains recently told The Canadian Press of mental health concerns.
"It's an emerging issue not only in my riding - I suspect it's across the country as well. But it is clearly an issue that we have to deal with." Bain's observations aren't unfounded.
According to two recent studies from Statistics Canada, the pandemic has resulted in sharp declines in Canadians' self-perceived mental health and measurement of life satisfaction.
This government initiative is timely as January 28 marks Bell Let's Talk Day. The day is focused on removing the stigma of mental illness, promoting access to mental health resources and, most importantly, increasing access to mental health resources in the workplace.
For every applicable text, call, tweet or TikTok video using #BellLetsTalk, Bell will donate five cents towards mental health initiatives in Canada.
As the government works to formulate a plan to address the mental health needs of citizens, solutions are available for people and their employers in the form of employee assistance programs (EAPs).
EAPs contain a host of useful tools and services to help people with areas like mental health as well as family and financial issues.
Consult with your human resources professional to find out what EAP services are available to you. If you're a business owner interested in adding EAP services to your employee benefits plan, get in touch with NFP's Alecia Henderson today.