N.B. took no action on most recommendations on Indigenous mental health, report says
Response on mental health crisis among Indigenous youth ‘profoundly underwhelming,’ Lamrock says
New Brunswick's child and youth advocate has delivered a mostly failing grade to the provincial government's work on recommendations in 2021 to address mental health issues among First Nations youth.
In a report released Monday morning, Kelly Lamrock calls the government's efforts "lacklustre," concluding that it took no action on 12 of the 20 recommendations and only "somewhat implemented" the eight others.
He told reporters that the response has been "profoundly underwhelming."
Lamrock called for a "nation-to-nation" approach to the issue, including co-management by the province and First Nations governments of funding for mental health services.
"At some point one either accepts that we need a distinct process to deal with the crisis in First Nations communities or we do not," Lamrock said. "And that dividing line really animates the report. My submission respectfully to the legislature is we do, and we have not had one."
He noted that young Indigenous people are almost eight times as likely to take their own lives as other New Brunswick youth.
"Anybody that thinks you can simply attack this problem by saying 'take the strategy for the whole province and add Aboriginal people' probably has not reflected long enough on the very unique causes and very unique challenges in First Nations communities."
Lamrock asked government departments for an accounting of their work on the proposals submitted by a First Nations advisory council to his predecessor Norm Bossé, as part of the advocate's broader review of suicide prevention and youth mental health services.
He said the responses "do not meaningfully address the substance of the recommendations," often equating the creation of committees — or just the discussion of who might sit on committees — with concrete actions.
"In several cases it appears that authorities are providing unrelated or tangential responses as a means to avoid rejecting the recommendations," he wrote.
"This indicates both a failure of the authorities to address the issue and a failure to take accountability for their inaction."
Lamrock's report makes five new recommendations that he says are intended to "kickstart this process after three lost years," including a "nation-to-nation" agreement with First Nations for the co-management of funding for youth mental health services.
Lack of action has 'huge costs'
Roxanne Sappier, who co-chaired the advisory council for Bossé's report, said she was hopeful the proposals would spark movement.
"The lack of action means that our youth are suffering, that we're not meeting the needs of our families in our communities, and that has huge, huge costs," she said.
In a statement, Rob McKee, the Liberal minister responsible for mental health and addiction services, said "a number of initiatives are underway … and are in various stages of implementation" — the kind of phrasing that Lamrock's report criticized..
McKee's statement said this includes creating programs that are "culturally safe" for Indigenous people, but he did not mention the idea of co-managing funding.
Lamrock also called for clearer accounting of federal funds transferred to the province for First Nations mental health to ensure it's being spent properly and for the creation of clear indicators for measuring progress.
He was reluctant to discuss whether the previous Progressive Conservative government of Blaine Higgs was to blame or whether the new Liberal government of Premier Susan Holt would make a difference.
His job, he said, was to report to the legislature — meaning 49 MLAs from three different parties — and leave it to them to hold specific politicians accountable.
"My job is to say what has come out of the department, and it's nothing."
But Sappier said she believes the attitudes of those holding political power can't be ignored.
"It's been very challenging without that support from the top. So we're really hopeful that now that we do have mandates from this government supporting this work, that we will make some gains that we've been waiting for for a long, long time," she said.
Progressive Conservative MLA Rob Weir, who was first elected in October and who worked as a political assistant in the PC government, was reluctant to say why so little progress had happened.
"I can't answer that because I was not in the room," he said.
"I will guarantee that moving forward, I will be an advocate for paying attention to the issues that we have and solving the problems moving forward."
Green Party Leader David Coon said the Higgs government was clearly responsible for the inaction, "but they're gone," and he called on the legislature's social policy committee to be given a mandate to monitor the implementation of the recommendations.
Among the 2021 recommendations where Lamrock found no action was taken:
- The launch of a separate review by the provincial government of Indigenous youth mental health services.
- Changes to health care structures and processes with a long-term goal of "cultural safety" for Indigenous youth and better outcomes.
- A forum that includes federal and provincial governments and Indigenous leaders to develop a framework for "culturally appropriate, competent and safe" mental health services.
- Improving the transparency of how federal government money transferred to the province is spent on Indigenous mental health services.
- Cultural training for judges and Crown prosecutors.
Among recommendations that Lamrock said were "somewhat" implemented:
- Formal support and recognition of Mi'gmaq, Peskotomuhkati and Wolastoqey languages through provincial legislation and programs.
- The offering of "culturally relevant" mental wellness, health and addiction services for Indigenous youth, with an emphasis on Indigenous-led services.
- A more culturally inclusive education policy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
