Canada to launch first national health strategy for men and boys
· Toronto Sun
OTTAWA — It’s time to stop sucking it up and start talking it out.
That was the message Tuesday morning at a North York press conference, unveiling the federal government’s plans to develop Canada’s first National Men and Boys’ Health Strategy — meant to launch a “national conversation” about the significant health disparities experienced by men, including a shorter life expectancy and higher suicide rates.
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“Over the last four or five years, we’ve seen troubling trends in men’s and boy’s engagement with society writ large,” said Eglinton-Lawrence MP Vince Gasparro, who is also the government’s parliamentary secretary for combating crime and co-host of Tuesday’s press conference.
“There’s more women in in university and college than men, men are three times more likely to commit suicide, men have a 75% greater likelihood of overdosing on opioids. I think it’s safe to say there is a crisis with our men and boys.”
Men face societal barriers in accessing help
The strategy, which launched its consultation period last month, was first proposed late last year by Health Minister Marjorie Michel.
“What you’re seeing with our national strategy is the federal government a recognizing that we have a problem — not only here in Canada, it’s a global issue,” Gasparro said.
A large contributor to the problem, he said, is one of culture — particularly ideas that suffering in silence is the way real men deal with their issues.
“Growing up, if you were having some pain, either physical or mental, what were we told? Suck it up and move on,” he said.
“What we’ve seen is the human cost, but there’s also an economic cost to that.”
Trevor Mayoh, principal of the non-profit advocacy group Next Gen Men, said there needs to be a fundamental re-think of men’s mental health.
“Loneliness, silence, not knowing how to ask for help — these aren’t personal failures, they’re the downstream effects of what we’ve taught men and boys to be,” he said.
“This strategy is an opportunity to change that at the root, challenging outdated norms, building systems that actually work for men and boys, and reaching them before crisis hits.”
Consultations run until June 1
The economic costs of neglecting boy’s and men’s health, Gasparro said, represents an up to $12.4 billion loss.
“If men and boys’ health improves, that could impact our economy here in Canada by a staggering amount,” he said.
“When you have influences in the ‘manosphere’ telling folks to behave a certain way, that going to university or college is a waste of time, getting educated is a waste of time — we need to push back on that.”
Consultations for the strategy will run until June 1, with plans to release the strategy later this year.
For information or to participate, visit canada.ca/healthy-men .
Gasparro said the tides are starting to shift, however — with going public about mental health issues increasingly being increasingly seen as a sign of strength rather than weakness.
“We have an obligation, as Canada’s new government, to ensure we are doing everything we can to make sure men and boys are in a much better place,” he said.