Andrea Horwath, Ontario’s New Democratic party leader, was in Peterborough on Tuesday to announce mental health supports in schools, if the NDP party were to be elected.

If elected, Horwath says she will invest $125 million more in mental health and well-being professionals and programming every year, as well as another $467 million over the next three years to hire more educational assistants from diverse backgrounds.

Universal Mental Health Care, which means mental health support like counselling will be available with a health card, not a credit card, Horwath says.
Investing $130 million over the next three years to build intensive treatment and specialized consultation services, increase access to psychotherapy and counselling, family therapy, and scale 24-hour crisis support services to ensure children and youth experiencing a crisis have an alternative to going to the emergency department.
Investing $90 million annually to increase the number of regulated health workers and paraprofessionals in elementary and secondary schools such as counsellors, therapists, social workers, and child and youth workers to reduce wait times and improve access to mental health services.
Doubling the Mental Health and Wellbeing Grant for schools through a $250 million investment to increase the ratio of staff in schools.
Dedicating $467 million over the next three years to support schools to hire more educational assistants from diverse backgrounds that represent the diversity of Ontario’s student population.
Implementing the Make Kids Count Action Plan to reduce the waitlist for children’s mental health to 30 days as laid out by the Children’s Health Coalition.
Creating a new position at all school boards to assess and improve the delivery of mental health care in Ontario’s schools.