Michael Kirby

When I was asked by Prime Minister Harper and Minister Clement to take on the job of being the first Chair of the Commission, I was honoured to be able to follow through on one of the key recommendations of Out of the Shadows at Last, the final report of the Senate Committee that I had chaired.

The support for the creation of the Commission that has been expressed to date by everyone interested in mental health is truly remarkable.

By having all stakeholders work together, I believe there is an excellent opportunity for the Mental Health Commission of Canada to help make a real difference in the lives of Canadians living with mental illness, their families, caregivers and communities.

Let me stress that to achieve this goal we must all work together. The Commission can be a catalyst to help stimulate change and innovation in the organization and delivery of mental health services and supports. But it cannot do the work itself.

The Commission will take a very active role in public education, and will strive to change perceptions and attitudes about mental health and mental illness amongst the general public, in policy circles as well as within the health care system itself. But it will take the work of all of us to ensure that mental health issues never again disappear into the shadows.

I look forward to the day when we can say that we live in a country that has put an end to the stigmatization of mental illness and has eliminated discrimination against people living with mental illness; to the day when we can say that we have put in place a truly seamless continuum of care across the lifespan that allows people living with mental illness to find their individual road to recovery.

With your help I believe we can get there.