Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Ninety per cent of Canadians with serious mental illnesses are unemployed due largely to prejudice about their conditions — a startling state of affairs that costs the Canadian economy an estimated $50 billion a year, according to a sweeping new report.
The Aspiring Workforce report, commissioned by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, delves into the challenges facing those Canadians, targeting all levels of government, businesses, policy-makers and the not-for-profit sector in addition to the attitudes of Canadians themselves towards those who suffer from mental illness.
Obtained by The Canadian Press, the report — conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the University of Toronto and Queen’s University — recommends collaboration among all sectors to find work for mentally ill Canadians, many of whom have training and skills.
