N.B. child advocate says youth mental health a 'genuine crisis'
Kelly Lamrock says results from Statistics Canada report on youth mental health mirror provincial observations
New Brunswick's child and youth advocate says a surge in young people reporting poor mental health, outlined in a recent Statistics Canada report, is being seen in New Brunswick.
Kelly Lamrock said his last state of the child report outlined a spike in children presenting with serious and escalated mental health issues.
Lamrock, speaking on Shift, said he believes there are three main issues contributing to this — the lack of a primary care system for mental health, the lack of timely intervention because there aren't enough trained professionals, and environmental issues, such as social media.
"Those three factors — I think they're all colliding to create a genuine crisis in youth mental health."
The Statistics Canada report, released last week, showed that about one in five youth who felt their mental health was "good" or better in 2019 no longer felt that way in 2023.
It also noted that the rates for girls and boys who said their mental health was "fair" or "poor" in 2019 more than doubled in 2023.
Both
Boyes and and Lamrock said social media has created issues with teen
mental health. The Department of Education recently updated its
technology policy to restrict cellphones in classrooms. (Martin Diotte/CBC)
Michael Boyes, a developmental psychologist from the University of Calgary, said the StatsCan numbers are based on the same individuals who were interviewed when they were between the ages of 12 and 17, in 2019, and when they were 16 to 21, in 2023.
"That's telling us that there's something going on, particularly importantly, in the latter half of the teenage years," said Boyes. "We've noticed, over the last 10 years, there's been an alarming increase ... in the level of mental health issues amongst teenagers."
He said the StatsCan data shows there was an additional negative bump as a result of COVID and the period of social isolation that came with that.
Because of this social isolation, Boyes said the social connections that were possible were through social media — which introduced "a number of issues that we're trying to sort out," including intense comparison to peers.
Lamrock said the pandemic exacerbated a trend that was already happening.
"We have tended to steer children away from free exploration and then left them free in a world of completely unregulated content," he said.
"And the pandemic didn't help ... it, frankly, just sped up trends that were happening."
Lamrock said the StatsCan results weren't surprising, and it's clear policymakers are aware of the crisis based on sustained increases to mental health funding.
Earlier in the year, the Department of Education updated its technology policy, Policy 311, to add a section that limits cellphone use in class, at the discretion of the teacher, to educational reasons.
Lamrock said that was a good first step. His office has assembled a team of pediatricians, psychologists, educators and others to develop a set of guidelines on social media access and the right to play, which he said will be published late fall.
Shift - NB 10:32But he said there are other things that should be considered going forward, including federal regulations on algorithms and primary care reform.
"Coming up with this idea of what is primary care and mental health, I think, is one of the most important puzzles to try and solve," he said.
"So we've certainly seen policymakers in New Brunswick and elsewhere with a willingness to commit resources.
"Now we all need to discuss and learn and see what the experts tell us in terms of regulating the industry, improving the ability of children to play, and making sure that primary care — and recruiting enough professionals to actually execute a plan — is a priority after the next election."
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With files from Shift
Reply to Matt Steele
Reply to Hugh MacDonald
Reply to Daniel Franklin
Who authorized funding and who exactly is on this Team ??
Here's a thought: maybe we should have let kids be kids.
During the Cold War, when there was a very real threat of nuclear war with all its incumbent atrocities, we kids were actually pretty happy playing outside with sticks and toy guns and dolls and Lego and Meccano sets, lighting firecrackers, catching frogs, climbing trees and playing all kinds of sports.
We weren't scared by adults all the time about the horrors of the impending nuclear war. Adults assumed their responsibilities and we children just went to school, played, and slept comfortably in our beds.
In those days, a family consisted of a mother and a father. We went to church on Sundays and the priest would reassure us by telling us that Jesus loved us. People trusted in God and said grace before meals to thank Him for the food we enjoyed. Mothers and fathers stayed together through thick and thin, providing stability for the children.
It seems to me it was a pretty good way to grow up.
Higgs doubles down on asylum seekers rhetoric in meeting with Fredericton council
City's mayor calls comments 'offensive'
Fredericton council's meeting with provincial party leaders was supposed to focus on municipal issues, but comments by the premier about asylum seekers lit fireworks at city hall Monday night.
While leaders from all three political parties represented in the legislature spoke at the special event, Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs' comments about asylum seekers and their purported impact on the province's health-care system drew a sharp rebuke from Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers.
In a question and answer session after Higgs's speech, Rogers said the percentage of Fredericton residents without a primary care provider had jumped from 14 per cent to 33 per cent in four years, and she asked Higgs what the government was doing to attract more doctors.
"The increase in population would've had a huge impact on the number of patients that don't have family physicians. That's why with additional asylum seekers that would've added to your list if they moved here," said Higgs.
Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers called Higgs's comments about asylum seekers 'offensive.' (Aidan Cox/CBC)
"I wish you would not deflect and constantly refer to asylum seekers. I find that offensive, personally," said Rogers.
"Well you may, your worship. However, the issue is real," said Higgs.
Last week in Moncton, the premier told an audience that Ottawa was "considering a plan" to send 4,600 asylum seekers to the province.
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller later called those comments "largely fictitious."
Higgs has also said asylum seekers are linked to the lack of housing in the province.
He said that while more housing was being built, the city would not be able to deal with a further influx of asylum seekers.
"You think that Fredericton could handle potentially 1,000 more people with no federal supports in place, no provincial supports in place?" said Higgs.
He did not address the impact on housing availability of people arriving through other immigration processes, or from Canadian residents moving to New Brunswick from other parts of the country.
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