P.E.I. Health Department, Premier’s Office dispute claims of underspending on mental health

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A report by a mental health advocacy group has generated unusual pushback from P.E.I.’s Department of Health and by a senior staffer within the P.E.I. Premier’s Office.

The report by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, entitled “Take the Money and Run,” surveyed the allocation of dollars for mental health and addictions programming from a 2023 health-care funding agreement between Ottawa and the provinces. That funding agreement was the result of a multi-year pressure campaign from Canadian premiers, who argued that health systems were struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The report argued several provinces, including P.E.I., had not adequately prioritized mental health and addictions funding under this agreement.

‘$0 FEDERAL DOLLARS’

A press release announcing the report also stated that P.E.I., along with Manitoba and B.C., had “invested $0 federal dollars in mental health and substance use health care” from their share of the 2023 agreement.

This statement provoked a strong reaction from the Department of Health and Wellness.

“The report does not accurately reflect the realities of Prince Edward Island’s investments and how the federal funding is being spent,” read an email statement from department spokesperson Morgan Martin.

Adam Ross, a senior communications staffer in Premier Dennis King’s office went further, stating that the $0 claim was “categorically false.”

In a phone call with The Guardian, Ross said the authors of the CAMIMH report had not contacted provincial staff and had not requested financial data on how the new federal dollars were spent.

He said staff at the province’s mental health and addictions team were “very upset” with the assertion that federal dollars committed for mental health programs had been allocated elsewhere.

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“I don’t use the language of, like, categorically false often. But, like, that is false,” Ross told The Guardian.

Ross said the province has not yet reported to the federal government how P.E.I. has spent new health-care dollars, as the deal did not require an audit before the current fiscal year.

“How can you say that we didn’t spend the money when you actually don’t have a report of how money was spent or have never asked us for it,” Ross said.

NEW FUNDING VS. OLD

P.E.I.’s share of the 2023 health-care deal added up to $94 million over three years.

The deal included close to $87 million in new funding and about $8 million in previously committed funding, most of which was targeted to addressing health staffing shortages and improving primary care access.

Of this, the $8 million was specifically allocated to two mental health and addictions programs, mobile mental health units and student well-being teams.

Together, these projects were allocated $2.6 million each year between 2023 and 2026.

In an interview, Glenn Brimacombe, chair of the public affairs committee with CAMIMH, conceded that the 2023 deal included close to $8 million for mental health and addictions programs.

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But that money was previously committed from a 2017 agreement between Ottawa and the province.

“This is a little trickier compared to the way most other provinces reported that they spent the money. But it’s still clear in our minds that the way that the money identified for mental health is under the 2017 envelope as opposed to the 2023,” Brimacombe said.

An October 2024 report from the Canadian Mental Health Association made a similar claim, noting P.E.I.’s 2023 agreement did not contain “new bilateral dollars” for mental health services.

In a followup response to The Guardian’s questions, a statement from the Department and Health P.E.I. confirmed the 2023 agreement did not include new mental health funding, beyond what had already been committed in 2017.

LOWEST PERCENTAGE

CAMIMH’s report found that funding commitments for mental health and addictions programming under the combined 2023 and 2017 agreements varied from province-to-province. In P.E.I.’s case, eight per cent of the total funding from both agreements was allocated to mental health and addictions programming – the lowest of any province or territory.

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The report also noted issues with measuring the impact of the mental health and addictions dollars.

One performance metric outlined in the 2023 Ottawa-P.E.I. was a measure of median wait times for community mental health service.

In a response to questions from The Guardian, the province said it could not provide wait time data due to “data reliability issues.” A new electronic medical record system was implemented for community mental health and addictions teams in fall 2024.

Health P.E.I. and the department said an open access counselling model has “virtually eliminated” wait times for counselling services in P.E.I.

Wait times for detox spaces at Mount Herbert were not provided.

During a recent meeting of the Health P.E.I. board, one woman told board members her son had been waiting two weeks for a rehab space after deciding to seek help.

Stu Neatby is a political reporter with SaltWire in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached by email at [email protected] and followed on X @stu_neatby.

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