Because of my book, “The Ghosts Behind Him” published by Caitlin Press, I was honoured to have received an invitation to participate in Senator Kirby’s Canada wide survey in 2003 into mental health practices in the provinces.The survey helped coordinate the Best Practices modality.

For someone who previously believed the Canadian Senate should be abolished because it served no real purpose, meeting with Senator Kirby and his associates in a Vancouver hotel boardroom certainly changed that viewpoint.

I still have a condensed copy of the original Kirby Report titled “Out of the Shadows at Last.” It was gleaned from numerous cross-country gatherings in every province with caregivers, parents, mental health workers, physicians, as well as with those afflicted by  mental health disorders.

Several years after the Vancouver presentation, a copy of a huge draft of Senator Kirby’s findings, in both English and French, and weighing about 5 pounds, arrived at my mailbox. It consisted of a compiliation of reviews and suggestions pertaining to what was wrong with the Canadian mental health system which at the time, varied from province to province.

I was pleased to note that my suggestion referring to the neccessity of persistent follow-ups with patients on psychiatric medications, was included.

*Out of the shadows at last : transforming mental health, mental illness and addiction services in Canada / The Honourable Michael J.L. Kirby, chair ; the Honourable Wilbert Joseph Keon, deputy chair. : YC17-0/391-2E-PDF – Government of Canada Publications – Canada.ca https://share.google/c1ecZypRum7ZZAQRG