Canadas Indigenous mental health program caught in red tape [Video]

The federal system meant to help vulnerable Indigenous people is too often failing them, according to the more than 60 clients, therapists, physicians and Indigenous mental health advocates interviewed for this story. Clockwise: Kelley Hawreliak, Janine Manning, Corenda Lee, Leslie Saunders, Dr. Chetan Mehta, Leigh Sheldon.

Toronto Star illustration using images from TVO, Michelle Mengsu Chang and Dreamstime

Soon after psychologist Leigh Sheldon opened a mental health clinic in Edmonton in 2021, the desperate calls for help started pouring in.

Each call carried an Indigenous voice in crisis. And with each call, Sheldon came to the same depressing realization: the coverage provided by the federal health benefits program for Indigenous people was failing them.

Robert Cribb is a Toronto-based investigative reporter for theStar. Reach him via email: [email protected].

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