OTTAWA - The federal public safety minister says the woeful treatment of the mentally ill is "one of the greatest failings of society today."
At a two-day gathering of correctional and health officials in Ottawa, Peter Van Loan said the prison system must do more to help offenders with mental problems.
The provinces must also "step up to the plate" and provide more community services, Van Loan said Monday.
"How we treat our mentally ill goes to the very heart of what this country is all about and the values of compassion, sympathy and caring."
Van Loan said the problem grew after large institutions closed their doors in the 1970s and '80s to allow people with mental issues to live in the community.
"All of that looked good on paper."
But the needed support services never materialized, leaving the afflicted to wander the streets or wind up in jail.
Closing institutions became "a way to save on spiralling health care costs" rather than to help those with serious mental illnesses get the care they need in the community, he said.
Van Loan called the recently established Canadian Mental Health Commission an important step forward. It is working toward a national strategy, conducting a campaign to destigmatize mental illness and building an online information centre.
But Van Loan said the commission must have allies.
"We need to use provincial forums as well as other venues to try and put a little bit more pressure on other parts of the system, such as provincial governments, to step up to the plate in terms of providing services in the community and reforming how people with serious mental illnesses are dealt with by the provincial corrections systems."
He said the federal correctional service needs to improve on changes already under way to better assist offenders with mental illness upon their arrival in prison, during their incarceration and after their release.
"We've made some progress in each of these areas over the last few years but we can and must do more.
"The best way is to get everybody around a table accepting it's a problem. I think it's only going to really happen when the political pressure is there because of public attention."
Correctional service commissioner Don Head said he remembered the days when mental health problems were rarely discussed.
"As time went on it became quite evident to us that we had more of a challenge within corrections than we would have ever thought."
Van Loan said the mentally ill are not receiving enough treatment within the prison system. One reason is the correctional service has had difficulty attracting psychologists and other qualified personnel.
The prison service has regional treatment centres that focus on the most seriously ill offenders, but those with less severe problems -- who might benefit the most -- don't get adequate help, he said.
Van Loan noted there are several examples of programs that actually work. However, they almost all remain pilot programs or operate only in pockets of the country.
For instance, in Ontario, there are special mental health courts where offenders can be tried in Toronto and Ottawa, but not elsewhere in the province.
Van Loan, who has spoken often on the subject, said the mental illness file rarely grabs media headlines.
"And that's too bad because this is a question that really matters," he said.
"It's not a partisan issue. It's not an opportunity for political gain. It just simply matters."
