Canadian Mental Health Association introduces BounceBack®

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National expansion supported with funds from Bell Let’s Talk

Toronto, November 18, 2020 – The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) today announced the introduction of CMHA’s BounceBack® program to residents in the Atlantic provinces, Québec, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Yukon, and further expansion of the program in Manitoba thanks to a $1 million donation from Bell Let’s Talk announced earlier this year.

“We are proud to be able to introduce this proven mental health program to more Canadians,” said Margaret Eaton, National CEO, CMHA. “COVID-19 is here now, but the mental health impacts will last long after the pandemic is over. BounceBack can help people build new skills and better adapt to the challenges we’re all facing.”

BounceBack is a free, guided self-help program effective in helping adults and youth 15+ manage low mood, mild to moderate depression, anxiety, stress or worry. Through telephone coaching and a selection of skill-building workbooks to choose from, participants can customize their own program, learn ways to overcome their symptoms and improve their mental well-being now and in the future.

“Through the expansion of BounceBack, CMHA will be bringing vital support to Canadians on a national scale in this time of crisis and uncertainty,” said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let’s Talk. “As demand for mental health supports increases due to COVID-19, Bell Let’s Talk is proud to help CMHA grow the reach of its proven BounceBack program. It’s a key initiative in the special Bell Let’s Talk funding program for leading Canadian mental health organizations developed in response to the COVID crisis.”

Based on cognitive behavioural therapy, BounceBack has been shown to reduce depressive and anxiety symptoms by 50% at program completion. The donation from Bell Let’s Talk has enabled CMHA to leverage existing expertise in BC, Ontario and Manitoba, where the program is already funded by governments and donors, to expand the impact of this evidence-based program to more Canadians.

Available in English and French, the program is free to all participants and will be delivered by coaches who are extensively trained and overseen by clinical psychologists. Participants can be referred by a primary care provider or choose to self-refer as long as they’re connected with a primary care provider, providing Canadians more choice in accessing support from home. The expansion also makes the program available across the north to people living in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Bell Let’s Talk funding has supported the creation of a national website and toll-free number where Canadians can learn about BounceBack and discover if it is right for them. For individuals interested in registering for the program, please visit cmha.ca/BounceBack.

Bell announced a $5 million increase in Bell Let’s Talk funding in response to COVID-19 with immediate support for 5 organizations delivering urgent mental health support on the front lines of Canadian communities, including $1 million to expand BounceBack. The BounceBack investment builds on an earlier $250,000 donation to CMHA in March to support the organization’s COVID-19 response.

About Bell Let’s Talk
Bell Let’s Talk promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let’s Talk Day and significant Bell funding of community care and access, research and workplace leadership initiatives throughout the country. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.

About the Canadian Mental Health Association
Founded in 1918, the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is the most established, most extensive community mental health organization in Canada. Through a presence in more than 330 communities across every province and one territory, CMHA provides advocacy, programs and resources that help to prevent mental health problems and illnesses, support recovery and resilience, and enable all Canadians to flourish and thrive. For more information, visit cmha.ca.

Media inquiries:

CMHA
Katherine Janson
National Director of Communications
647-717-8674
kjanson@cmha.ca
@CMHA_NTL

Conservative election complaints against Unifor thrown out

November 18, 2020

WINNIPEG—Elections Manitoba has dismissed all complaints filed against Unifor by the Progressive Conservative Party during the 2019 provincial election.

“Brian Pallister attempted to use Manitoba’s election financing laws to bully one of his most effective critics. He failed,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Pallister was looking for any excuse to distract voters from his record in office.”

During the 2019 provincial election, the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba held a media conference to denounce Unifor’s voter mobilization campaign and announce official complaints. The subsequent investigation overseen by the Manitoba Commissioner of Elections found no evidence that Unifor violated The Election Financing Act.

At the time, Unifor shrugged off the accusations and chalked it up to an effort by Pallister to distract voters from his record on emergency room closures, mismanagement of Manitoba Hydro, and rollbacks of workers’ rights.

“Whether it is mismanaging Manitoba Hydro or bungling the pandemic response, Pallister’s first instinct is to point the finger at somebody else,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. “Rather than smear its critics, the Pallister government must take responsibility for its many failings.”

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

Unifor Statement on the Trans Day of Remembrance

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Unifor unites with a growing movement around the world in acknowledging November 20 as the Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR). November 20 is a day of mourning, as our union comes together to recognize those whose lives – overwhelmingly Black trans women and femmes – have been taken due to anti-trans violence.

We mourn the lives lost and stand alongside trans members and their families as they seek to live with the dignity, safety and freedom that we all need and deserve.

Trans rights are human rights. No person should be subject to discrimination, intimidation or violence because of their gender expression or identity.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998.

“Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. I am no stranger to the need to fight for our rights, and the right to simply exist is first and foremost. With so many seeking to erase transgender people — sometimes in the most brutal ways possible — it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice.”

– Transgender Day of Remembrance founder Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Unifor encourages members to include a moment of silence for murdered transgender people at your next online union event or meeting.

Take time to pause and recognize those that have been taken by this violence, and commit to continue to work against transphobia as a union.

Members can also support trans people in the workplace, and at the bargaining table by negotiating gender-natural washrooms, gender-inclusive PPE’s and uniforms, expanded medical benefits including mental health care, and other bargaining priorities in Unifor’s 2019 Collective Bargaining Program.

Unifor invites all trans and gender non-binary members to become involved in their locals and union. Reach out to Sarah McCue, LGBTQ Staff Liaison at pride@unifor.org.

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women: Vigil and Action

 

December 6 marks the National Day of Remembrance and Action for Violence against Women. For Canada’s workers, this day brings a clear opportunity for community and activism.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to spikes in gender-based violence in Canada and around the world.

Issues of isolation, economic insecurity, stress and disconnect from social supports are all risk factors that lead to increased instances of violence.

During this isolating time, let’s come together. RSVP for Unifor’s December 6 Vigil and Action if you are committed to take the next step to end gender-based violence.

Following remarks from Unifor’s leadership and a digital vigil, stay for regional breakout sessions led by Unifor’s Regional Directors and Council Women’s Committee members as we take action to demand a National Action Plan on Violence Against Women and Girls from the federal government.

Remarks by:

Jerry Dias, Unifor National President

Lana Payne, Unifor National secretary-Treasurer

Renaud Gagne, Unifor Quebec Director

France Paradis, Unifor Quebec Representative

Gina Smoke, Unifor Indigenous Liaison

Lisa Kelly, Unifor Women’s Director

Additional vigil participants