May 20, 2025
The Honourable Marjorie Michel, P.C, M.P.
Minister of Health
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Dear Minister Michel,
On behalf of the over 22,500 members of the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW), I want to extend sincere congratulations on your appointment as Minister of Health. CASW looks forward to supporting your continued advocacy efforts to ensure Canadians receive the health care they deserve, most notably a commitment to mental health care.
As background for you, CASW is the national association for the social work profession, composed of ten partner federation partners across provinces and territories, representing a diverse body of social work professionals in Canada.
CASW advocates that the next necessary step in supporting Canadians’ mental health and well-being, is bringing about Mental Health Parity in Canada. To this end, CASW urges the Government of Canada to invest in understanding how Mental Health Parity can be achieved in Canada within the existing framework of the Canada Health Act.
Canada’s health care system continues to face staffing shortages, putting immense strain on the continuum of care. This health human resource crisis is well understood by government, however CASW advises that allied professions such as social work must be robustly included.
Social workers are Canada’s most numerous mental health care providers but are conspicuously absent from health workforce research, planning, and data. The Government of Canada will not succeed in its goals of improving health and social care if these conversations are restricted solely to physicians and nurses.
In this regard, please consider supporting sustained funding, through CIHI or other bodies, to assist in empowering the social work profession to systematically implement a minimum data standard. Routinely and systematically collecting data about social workers – and all those involved in the health workforce – is a key component of effective future workforce planning.
Sincerely,
Barb Whitenect, MSW, RSW
CASW President