NewsToGo

OPDI NewsToGo Issue #198 - September 12, 2008

1. Canadian Federal Election Called for Tuesday, October 14, 2008

To find out more, you can visit the Elections Canada website at:

http://www.elections.ca/home.asp

Full voting instructions and employment opportunities are available here.

2. MHCP to be Divested to Penetanguishene General Hospital

Mental Health Centre Penetanguishene (including the maximum security Oak Ridges facility) will be divested by December 15th to the local area hospital.  This means that CAMH will not be taking over forensic mental health services as was recommended by the supervisor.  For a press release from MHCP, please click on this link:

http://wwww.mhcva.on.ca

3. Mental Health Commission of Canada One-Year Update

MHCC CEO Michael Howlett spoke recently at the CMHA National convention in August; the speech transcript summarizes the first year’s progress of the Commission:

Michael Howlett Speech Aug23 2008

A related media report from CAMH outlines the nature of the homelessness research project funded by MHCC taking place in Vancouver and four other Canadian urban centres:

http://www.camh.net/Research/Research_publications/Newsletter/Volume%20Three/profile_vol3_iss1.html

4. “The Jersey Boys” Musical MDAO September 25 Fundraiser (Toronto)

The Mood Disorders Association of Ontario is using this performance at the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts to raise money; a portion of the proceeds go to them.  For tickets, call (416) 590-0843 and quote code:  MDAO; also check the attached link:

http://www.mooddisorders.on.ca/images/MDAO-email.jpg

5. New Three-Month Mental Health Nursing Training Program Available

This year’s program has just started; for more information on this innovative learning opportunity, the slide show can be viewed at:

http://www.beamentalhealthnurse.ca/

6. Seasonal Affective Disorder Linked to Serotonin

According to research conducted at CAMH, the level of serotonin varied during the seasons as the transport of this neurotransmitter is affected directly by the intake of sunshine.  Lowered levels of serotonin are associated with changes to energy level and appetite:

http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=74227&catid=847

7. C/S Information Centre AGM and Membership Application Form

The C/S Info Centre’s Annual General Meeting is coming up on October 22nd. It will be held in the Queen Street site of CAMH in the cafeteria at 1001 Queen Street West.  Refreshments begin at 5:30 pm followed by the business meeting at 6 pm.  Linda Chamberlain and the Dream Team will be guest speakers.  For the most recent issue of the C/S Info Centre’s biweekly e-newsletter (with membership application form), please go to:

http://www.crct.org/events/show_event.cfm?id=1031

8. Upcoming Events and Workshops (more on website)

a) ACET Information Session September 24th (George Brown College, Toronto)

b) Pat Capponi Book Relaunch October 1st at PARC (Toronto)

c) Bridging Gaps in Advocacy October 15th (Toronto)

d) Psychopharmacology Workshop October 30th (Toronto)

The website link is:

http://www.opdi.org/events/mark_your_calendars/

9. CMHA, Ontario Division Position Papers Now Available

This member of the Provincial Mental Health and Addiction Partnership has made available the following:  a discussion paper exploring how the mental health field may explore the idea of a chronic disease focus; a policy paper exploring the prevention and management of co-existing mental health problems and chronic physical conditions; and its recommendations regarding the PHIPA (Personal Health Information Protection Act) review.

http://www.ontario.cmha.ca/backgrounders.asp?cID=25745

http://www.ontario.cmha.ca/policy_positions.asp?cID=25746

http://www.ontario.cmha.ca/submissions.asp?cID=25749

10. Ethicist Speaks Out at Canadian Psychiatric Association AGM

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/09/05/psychiatric-refusal.html

11. Next Year’s Federal Tax-Free Savings Account – A Review

Not surprisingly, this report by a major Canadian bank spells out that the TFSA will not help people on social assistance to save money tax-free:

http://www.td.com/economics/special/dd0708_poverty.pdf

12. Featured Resource:  “Discover and Recover” Blog

This Texas-based blog came to our attention with its recent profile of a free series of e-courses on recovery offered by Magellan Health Services:

http://discoverandrecover.wordpress.com/

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Thanks for reading!

The Staff of OPDI

NewsToGo is OPDI’s e-mail update providing timely and meaningful information to its stakeholders. The ideas expressed are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of OPDI. We welcome your submissions; please direct them to . Preference will be given to material which directly relates to OPDI member affiliates and issues of concern to consumer/survivors throughout Ontario. We reserve the right to edit the length and style of all materials submitted. The current and back issues of NewsToGo can be found at http://www.opdi.org.

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