With estimates that one in five Canadians will likely suffer from a mental illness at some point in their life, the creation of the Mental Health Commission of Canada has been welcomed by many.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Honourable Michael Kirby, chair of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, announced the inaugural members of the Board of Directors and Advisory Committee Chairs of the commission on August 31, 2007.
Dr. Simon Davidson, chair of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa and medical director of the Mental Health Patient Service Unit of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, will chair an advisory committee on children and youth.
Dr. Marie-France Tourigny-Rivard, chair of the Geriatric Psychiatry Division at the University of Ottawa and clinical director of the Integrated Geriatric Psychiatry Program at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, will chair a committee on seniors.
The advisory committees will provide advice to the board, as well as to support the commission in staying in touch with the needs of the broader stakeholder community.
The latest research in mental health is also currently under discussion at the University’s Institute of Mental Health Research, which is presenting its scientific symposium, from September 26 to 27. The symposium marks the institute’s inaugural year in the new state-of-the-art tower located in the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre.
The symposium will focus on the treatment of depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.
