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TORONTO — Brant MPP Will Bouma introduced his first Private Member’s Bill in the Legislature this week — seeking to annually designate June 27th ‘PTSD Awareness Day’ in the province.
“Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating anxiety disorder which can occur after a person has experienced a traumatic event. Common among veterans, first responders, dispatchers and survivors of sexual violence, PTSD, similar to other mental illnesses, still faces stigmatization which prevents sufferers from seeking the help they need in order to combat this terrible affliction,” Bouma stated during first reading of the Bill.
In Canada as great as 3.5 per cent of the general population is thought to have PTSD. In 2016, Ontario amended the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997 to include PTSD as a workplace injury among first responders if it arises out of and in the course of the worker’s employment.
Bouma said he hoped the bill would raise awareness and help deal with the stigma attached to PTSD.
