Here is an email the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative received back from Health Canada after we sent them our reaction to the government’s response to our petition. It sounds hopeful. We look forward to working with Health Canada on a perinatal mental health national strategy.
Letter from Health Canada to CPMHC:
“We are writing in response to your e-mail of July 31, 2020 addressed to the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health, concerning perinatal mental health supports.
Thank you for taking the time to share your story and convey the difficulties that you and your family have experienced in seeking perinatal mental health supports. We empathize with your situation and understand how difficult it must be to juggle the responsibilities of parenthood while at the same time experiencing and trying to overcome mental health issues. Your experience illustrates the heavy toll mental illness can have on the lives of those directly affected and their loved ones.
We appreciate your work on creating this petition, gaining the signatures that you did, and bringing your lived experience and careful research to our attention. We understand that our response did not meet your expectations. However, please be assured that we have heard you and that we will include this topic and your excellent points in our future discussions and plans on mental health. The challenge of addressing mental health issues requires the combined efforts of all levels of government and many stakeholders. We are optimistic that this collaboration will lead to improvements in the availability and quality of mental health services.
Thank you for writing on this important issue. We wish you and your family continued strength and success.
Yours sincerely,
Strategic Policy Branch
Health Canada”
