This petition is brought to your attention by the Children's Mental Health Advocacy Committee of Sarnia/Lambton. Please read the following to understand why funding for Children's Mental Health is important to all communities in Ontario. It will be sent to Deb Mathews, the Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services. Thank you for your support!

The Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services has a responsibility to ensure the provision of core mental health services to the children and youth of Ontario is upheld, and that funding is given to certain community agencies across Ontario for the provision of those services.

Funding for core children%u2019s mental health services has increased by only 8% since 1992 despite inflationary pressures of over 30%.

The community agencies that are mandated to provide these core children%u2019s mental health services have had to rationalize and consolidate the delivery of such services in order to deliver them within the financial constraints, resulting in long waiting lists and reduced services to the detriment of their clients and the people of Ontario.

The Mental Health Commission of Canada identified that 70% of mental illnesses have their onset during childhood or adolescence and that early intervention and treatment provide significant potential for reducing the financial and emotional burden on society.

This petition is urging the government of Ontario to immediately increase funding for core children%u2019s mental health services by a minimum of 5% and to commit to similar annual increases until funding is returned to a level equivalent to that of 1992.

Whereas the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services has responsibility to ensure the provision of core mental health services to the children and youth of Ontario, and

Whereas the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services provides funding to certain community agencies across Ontario for the provision of those services, and

Whereas funding for core children%u2019s mental health services has increased by only 8% since 1992 despite inflationary pressures of over 30%, and

Whereas the community agencies mandated to provide these core children%u2019s mental health services have rationalized and consolidated the delivery of such services in order to deliver them within the financial constraints, resulting in long waiting lists and reduced services to the detriment of their clients and the people of Ontario, and

Whereas the Mental Health Commission of Canada identified that 70% of mental illnesses have their onset during childhood or adolescence and that early intervention and treatment provide significant potential for reducing the financial and emotional burden on society,

We, the undersigned, urge the government of Ontario to immediately increase funding for core children%u2019s mental health services by a minimum of 5% and commit to similar annual increases until funding is returned to a level equivalent to that of 1992.