Outdated, disjointed, and poorly resourced, the current structure of mental health services fails to meet the needs of Canadians. It is, in the words of Roy Romanow, the orphan child of Canadian healthcare. The urgent need for mental health reform is underlined by the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology under the chairmanship of Senator Michael Kirby. Whatever comes of the committee's ambitious agenda, reform of mental health and addictions policy merits urgent consideration. This special edition brings evidence-based recommendations from the perspective of leading Canadian researchers and policymakers in mental health and addictions.

Samuel E. D. Shortt and Arthur Sweetman: Introduction: Mental Health Reform for the 21st Century, pp. 1-4. [Abstract] [View]

Michael Kirby: Mental Health Reform for Canada in the 21st Century: Getting There from Here, pp. 5-12. [Abstract] [View]

Julio Arboleda-Flórez: The Epidemiology of Mental Illness in Canada, pp. 13-16. [Abstract] [View]

Barbara Everett: A National Strategy for Mental Health: Who Cares?, pp. 17-20. [Abstract] [View]

Heather Stuart: Fighting Stigma and Discrimination Is Fighting for Mental Health, pp. 21-28. [Abstract] [View]

Pierre Beauséjour: Positioning Canada's Mental Health and Addiction Systems: A Discussion Paper, pp. 29-34. [Abstract] [View]

Elliot M. Goldner: Foundational Elements for Mental Health Reform in Canada, pp. 35-40. [Abstract] [View]

Craig Jones: Supporting the Families of the Mentally Ill, pp. 41-45. [Abstract] [View]

Eric Latimer: Organizational Implications of Promoting Effective Evidence-Based Interventions for People with Severe Mental Illness, pp. 47-52. [Abstract] [View]

Deborah Elliott: No Simple Solutions for Complex Needs, pp. 53-58. [Abstract] [View]

Terry Krupa, Bonnie Kirsh, Rebecca Gewurtz, and Lynn Cockburn: Improving the Employment Prospects of People with Serious Mental Illness: Five Challenges for a National Mental Health Strategy, pp. 59-64. [Abstract] [View]

David Reville: Mental Health Reform: Still Saying the Same Thing After All These Years, pp. 65-68. [Abstract] [View]

Michael Wilson: Getting There from Here: Next Steps, pp. 69-74. [Abstract] [View]

© 2010 Canadian Public Policy (URL: http://cpp.economics.ca/, E-mail: cpp.adp@gmail.com). The CPP web pages are maintained by Olivier Lebert (Université de Montréal) and Werner Antweiler (UBC). Earlier versions of the documents on this site were created by Elaine Constant (Queen's University) and Maureen Church (University of Calgary).