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Party platforms: where does each party stand on mental health?

New Democrats

The New Democrats currently hold 39 seats in the House of Commons and are led by Member of Parliament Jagmeet Singh. 
 
You can find your federal riding here and the New Democratic candidate for your riding here.

Read the full New Democratic platform here.
 
  • Mental Health & Health Care
    If elected, the New Democrats have committed to: 
    • Invest $10 billion annually to expand medicare to include pharmacare for Canadians—they aim to have it in place by late 2020 
    • Work with provinces and health care experts to introduce dental care coverage for Canadians 
    • Declare a public health emergency in response to the opioid crisis and decriminalize drug use; expand treatment on demand for those struggling with addiction; work with provinces to support overdose prevention sites; seek compensation from drug companies for the public cost of the opioid crisis
     
    They have also promised to: 
    • Partner with Indigenous communities to improve access to mental health and addiction treatment services, establish an action plan to prevent suicide in Indigenous communities
    • Collaborate with provincial governments and farmers to develop a strategy to address the mental health challenges that Canadian farmers are facing 
    • Support the mental health needs of Canadian Service members & their families 
    • Develop a national plan to ban conversion therapy for minors
     
    Intersections
     
    The state of our mental health is connected to what’s going on in the world around us. We can be hugely affected by things like our working conditions, our ability to make rent, intergenerational trauma, or the security of our planet. Click below to see where the New Democrats stand on each issue.
  • Climate
    • Declare a climate emergency; implement science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius; create an independent Climate Accountability Office that will issue reports on if we are reaching our climate goals
    • Set a target to power Canada with net carbon-free electricity by 2030; continue carbon pricing; fulfill Canada’s G-20 commitment to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies; invest in public transit
    • Protect 30% of land, freshwater, and oceans by 2030; invest in reforestation efforts to strengthen climate resilience; ban single-use plastics in Canada;  invest in ocean habitat restoration and protection
  • Labour
    • A federal minimum wage of $15 per hour
    • Legislate to ensure that part-time and contract workers are compensated equally to full-time workers
    • Ban unpaid internships
  • Indigenous Rights
    • Work with Indigenous peoples in Canada to develop a National Action Plan for Reconciliation
    • Work to support Indigenous jurisdiction over child welfare systems
    • Permanently  lift all drinking water advisories on reserve by 2021
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