The Lieutenant-General shared his personal journey with mental health and how his work in Rwanda catapulted him to the forefront of a national discussion about mental health, especially amongst service men and women.

The message rang true for our contingent at the breakfast, which is a highlight of our community calendar each year. The reason? Because Our Strength is People and their health and safety is our number one job. Not just physical, but also mental health.

Most of us have a personal connection to mental illness. From a business perspective, depression, stress and anxiety are a leading cause of disability, affecting employees and their families. For this reason, we have become very vocal around mental health, both with our actions and our investments. This is because, as a company, we feel that we all have a responsibility to change the dialogue and the care structure for mental health.

At Dofasco, our journey began in earnest in 2010 and as in all areas of our business, we know we must continuously improve to transform tomorrow. And so, our focus on mental health remains and is intensifying as we aim to move from a Canada Awards for Excellence Silver recognition in Mental Health at Work to a Gold level standard.

Katrina McFadden, VP Corporate Administration and Human Resources, delivered a welcome to the Mental Health Morning’s attendees and talked about where we are headed. “We’ve done a lot within our business,” she said. “We’ve made some key investments in the community. But there is more to do. That includes providing training and resources for all our leaders at every level and continuing to offer a breadth and depth of support for our entire workforce, and their family members, that will ensure they get the treatment and support they require to manage and be successful.”

Learn more about St. Joseph’s Healthcare’s Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Learn more about the Mental Health Morning event.