The Health and Environment Committee of CPC-Ontario Division has been meeting regularly over the past year. It is always looking for new members who are interested in its top priorities: Seniors' Mental Health and Water.

The focus on mental health issues in Canada continues. With an ever?growing aging population, a focus on the mental health of its elders must be the focus of policy and program planning. CPC Ontario has strong links to the Canadian Coalition for Seniors' Mental Health (CCSMH) and to the Elder Health Coalition. CPC Ontario is working to build a core of speakers for the project on Seniors and Depression which is an offshoot from the Older Persons Mental Health and Addictions Network (OPMHAN). We will be training speakers this spring and will be booking a calendar to build awareness that Depression is NOT a normal part of Aging. Speaking commitments will begin in Toronto and expand to the Greater Toronto Area, to municipalities and regions within a day's drive - affordable travel and good weather permitting. If future funding is found, this program can build and expand across the province.

The focus on water issues continues as well. A forum in the fall of 2010 or Spring of 2011 is a possibility, given funding and potential partners who could work with CPC Ontario. Moyra Haney has been re-appointed to the Council of the Don Watershed Regeneration project of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, keeping CPC Ontario in touch with some of the activities in the Great Lakes area to keep our water safe and clean.

The Health and Environment Committee continues to monitor:

• Long-Term Care
• Medications/Pharmaceuticals and Pharmacists
• Ontario Health Coalition and its activities
• Home Care (with a link to Care Watch and its board)