Nova Scotia gets F on access to mental health, substance use services: poll

Nova Scotia received Fs across the board when it comes to its mental health and substance use services, according to a recent poll. 

The Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIMH) polled more than 3,200 Canadians in November 2023 about their province’s mental health and substance use services. 

While most provinces received an F as their final grade for both mental health and substance use services, Nova Scotia was the only province to receive a failing grade in every single category. 

More than 100 Nova Scotians said they had very low confidence when it comes to access, public confidence, satisfaction and effectiveness of the province’s mental health services. 

When responding to questions posed by CAMIMH, Nova Scotians said they weren’t confident that they would be able to find mental health-care services in a timely manner, nor did they believe all levels of government were serious about trying to improve future access. 

They also gave poor grades to Canadians’ overall ability to access publicly funded mental health-care services and the current wait times people face.

And they responded the same way about substance use services when it came to the same four categories. 

While Nova Scotia did get a failing grade in a similar survey done by CAMIMH in January 2023, more than half of those who responded said they were very confident or somewhat confident in people’s access to mental health supports – a stark contrast to the latest survey. 

Glenn Brimacombe, chair of the CAMIMH public affairs committee, said the latest survey results have seen the national grade of mental health and substance use services go from a grade of D down to a grade of F.

“So what Canadians are seeing through their eyes is there’s a great gap between what they’re expecting in mental health and substance use health and what governments are delivering,” Brimacombe said in an interview on Wednesday. 

Brimacombe said the survey’s results have confirmed what CAMIMH, an alliance made up of 16 mental health-care providers and organizations from across Canada, has been hearing, “which is a severe lack of access to care.” 

He said mental health care is very much a “mixed funding system.” 

“It’s public and private, but predominantly private,” he said. 

But Brimacombe said it’s not all bad news when it comes to mental health care in Canada. 

“There’s a great gap between what they’re expecting in mental health and substance use health and what governments are delivering.”

– Glenn Brimacombe

“I say that because it’s not like the provinces are standing still,” Brimacombe said. 

“Many of them are looking at pilot projects and Nova Scotia is a good example where several pilot projects are being put into play when it comes to better accessing mental health care.” 

The Nova Scotia Progressive Conservatives promised in the 2021 election that mental health care would be among its top priorities and has made several financial contributions to work towards that promise. 

Last October, the Nova Scotia government tabled a bill to amend the Health and Services Insurance Act that would allow people to receive some forms of mental health care to be covered under the province’s Medical Services Insurance (MSI) plan. 

In November, the Nova Scotia government started a suicide crisis helpline, 988, which provides live support by phone or text 24 hours a day, every day of the year. It also launched a designated phone line for volunteer first responders to access counselling. 

And in December, the provincial government announced it was contributing $1 million to go toward the launch of an endowed research chair in mental health and addictions at St. Francis Xavier University. 

However, CAMIMH is calling on the federal government to come through on funding and legislation to improve mental health and substance use services. 

Brimacombe said the Trudeau government has yet to see the Canada Mental Health Transfer, a 2021 election promise of $4.5 billion over five years in funding for mental health services across Canada. 

CAMIMH also hopes the federal government will introduce a mental health and substance use parity act, “which would be complementary to the Canada Health Act, but would recognize the value and importance of mental health and publicly-funded mental health and substance use services in the same way we fund physical health care.” 

Brimacombe said people having access to publicly funded mental health and substance use services is important.  

“The literature and the evidence tells us that the sooner people get into treatment, the more likely that they’ll actually have a very positive health outcome,” he said.