Pressure is on new minister of mental health and addictions
Saskatchewan's first minister of mental health and addictions takes the job amid record overdose deaths, a continuing suicide crisis and the ongoing mental health effects of a global pandemic.
Swift Current MLA Everett Hindley says he's up to the task.
Hindley says the new role reflects the growing importance of mental health care and awareness in constituencies like his own, but adds he wants the job to be more than just a title, even though its responsibilities and powers are not yet defined.
“Mental health and addictions is serious no matter what side of the aisle you are on, and frankly what matters at the end of the day is that people who are in need of mental health and addictions support, they need to be able to access it and access it in a timely manner,” Hindley said.
The Saskatchewan's Coroners Service recorded 296 confirmed and suspected overdose deaths between Jan. 1 and Oct. 26.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also brought its own challenges for mental health care, as the pressures of isolation and disruptions to service access continue to weigh on a system many say was already under-resourced.
Prairie Harm Reduction executive director Jason Mercredi hopes the creation of the new ministerial position signals a fresh start.
“That tells us that they want to give it some real thought and dedication,” Mercredi said.
He's not bothered that Hindley is a rookie cabinet member, or that he is also the Minister for Rural and Remote Health and Seniors, he added. “All that tells me is that that guy is pretty hungry.”
The Opposition NDP have had a critic role for addictions and mental health for years.
Cumberland MLA Doyle Vermette, who assumed the role after the provincial election, fought to introduce suicide prevention legislation in Saskatchewan but was voted down. Vermette says Hindley's actions in the position will speak louder than his words.
“(Families) are not asking anymore. They're starting to demand it. They have a right to services for their loved ones,” Vermette said.
Hindley, whose biography page says he started his political career as a constituency assistant for former Premier Brad Wall in 1999, said he wants to ease into his role by speaking to service providers around the province.
He defended recent Sask. Party investments like money for a specialized methamphetamine treatment centre in Estevan, but acknowledged there's an appetite for more aggressive action.
“Given COVID-19 and the additional pressures that has put on everybody's lives, that makes it a unique year as well,” he said.
Mercredi said his first call in Hindley's place would be to families who have lost loved ones to overdose, and his first order of business would be a provincial overdose prevention strategy.
Vermette said he would like a rapid response team to address suicide.
“You can meet and consult with everybody and you can do nothing, or you can show some action,” Vermette said.
The re-elected government's first sitting is scheduled to begin on Nov. 30.