New report questions P.E.I.’s use of money earmarked for mental health and addictions [Video]

P.E.I. reallocated federal money that was intended to be spent on mental health programs, a new report suggests.

The report, called Take the Money and Run, tries to track the $25 billion promised last year as part of a 10-year health accord between the provinces and the federal government.

Part of that money was supposed to be spent to improve mental health services. But Glenn Brimacombe of the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, one of the report’s authors, said P.E.I. has not reported spending any of the new money on mental health last year. 

“It doesn’t mean, of course, that the province is not investing money into mental health and substance abuse health, we know they are. But of the new money that was made available through the $25 billion … Prince Edward Island has chosen to allocate the money into other areas.”

In an response to …