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Alarming new data exposes how badly the Trudeau government has failed kids and vulnerable populations. Even more concerning is how the very people responsible are gearing up to continue their neglect of Canada's mental health crisis.

As the government sounds the alarm about a rise in COVID cases this fall and starts sabre-rattling for more lockdowns, new information has come to light, unbeknown to parents and quietly hid by politicians and bureaucrats.

The 2023 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth just revealed that mental health among kids has taken a nosedive since the pandemic. In 2019, only 12% of teens rated their mental health as 'fair' or 'poor,' a number that has more than doubled to 26%.

One in four kids are now struggling, and girls have been hit the hardest. One-third of teenage girls say their mental health has seriously declined since the pandemic, tied to punitive lockdowns, school closures, and isolation.

This isn’t just about COVID cases anymore.

A group of over four thousand concerned parents and citizens are part of the ‘Free to Play’ group and have been advocating for youth access to recreation. When we heard their story, we agreed to help with their legal battle.

FULL REPORT from @ATSoos: https://t.co/v3p6Qcikkg pic.twitter.com/31ks538DQf

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 13, 2022

The data is clear: the so-called solutions implemented by the government caused more harm than good. A fifth of the youth who had rated their mental health as 'good,' 'very good,' or 'excellent' in 2019 have since seen their mental health decline to 'fair' or 'poor.'

For teenage girls, the numbers are even worse. Among those who were doing well in 2019, 26% of girls now rate their mental health as 'fair' or 'poor,' compared to 17% of boys. These young women have been left behind and the best the government can do is put tampons in the boys' room. 

School closures were a major part of this. Nearly half of the youth who once looked forward to school in 2019 no longer feel that way in 2023. And for girls, it’s worse — 52% of them no longer feel any optimism about school. How can we expect kids to thrive when we’ve taken away the very structure and social interaction that school provides? It’s clear that another lockdown would be disastrous for them.

The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) warned the public back in 2020 when they reported that 40% of Canadians said their mental health had worsened during the pandemic, and that number rose to 61% for the unemployed.

And here’s another chilling fact: calls to Crisis Services Canada surged by 200% as people became desperate for help. These policies created a mental health catastrophe, but instead of addressing it, our government is now talking about bringing back the very measures that caused this crisis in the first place.

Premier Doug Ford reflects on his handling of COVID-19, saying Ontario "did extremely well compared to the rest of the world."

Ford oversaw one of the longest, most tyrannical lockdowns in the Western world, where individual rights and freedoms were trampled. pic.twitter.com/XCnrOqLJ8N

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) March 11, 2024

But it’s not just mental health that’s taken a hit. The opioid crisis has exploded, and the numbers are horrifying. In 2021, one in four deaths among Canada’s young people was opioid-related. Think about that for a second. While the government claims they’re 'keeping us safe' with their lockdowns, our youth are dying from opioid overdoses at an alarming rate. This isn’t safety. This is a tragedy, and the government’s policies are directly responsible.

And the devastation isn’t limited to our youth. A study examining data from the Ontario Coroner’s Office revealed that opioid-related deaths in Ontario shelters more than tripled during the pandemic compared to a few years prior. These were people already on the margins — relying on shelters for safety and community support. But the pandemic restrictions cut off that support, and many of these lives were lost as a result.

So, with all of this destruction left in the wake of the last lockdowns, the government has the nerve to start ramping up the fear again this fall. They’re already sounding the alarm about rising COVID cases and parents are understandably anxious. 

Consider the damage these policies have already done — to our kids, communities, and the most vulnerable.

This information should be first and foremost in the minds of parents as school continues underway. The government wants you to panic about rising COVID cases, but you need to remember what their last round of 'emergency measures' did to children’s mental health and the people struggling in shelters across the country. Our kids are still recovering from the last time their schools were shut down and their lives were disrupted. Another lockdown could push them — and society — even further into crisis.

The government claims to care about public safety, but where’s their accountability for the mental health disaster and opioid deaths that exploded under their watch? Our children, our youth, and our most vulnerable can’t afford another round of isolation, school closures, and lockdowns.