Three leading mental health organizations are urging provincial and territorial health ministers to be open to targeted federal investments.
In a letter, the heads of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Canadian Mental Health Association note billions of dollars are spent on health, but only seven per cent goes to mental health.
The organizations say targeted mental-health funding must be part of a new health accord.
The issue of health spending is the source of a heated debate as Ottawa attempts to reach an agreement on an accord, designed to set shared goals for how billions in federal funds are directed, with the provinces and territories.
The main source of friction is the proposed, three per cent annual rate of increase for health transfers, down from six per cent.
Louise Bradley, the president of the mental health commission, says she is concerned mental health will be left out in the cold ``yet again'' if strings are not attached to federal dollars.