• 1 in 5 Canadians will suffer from a mental illness at some point in their lifetime.

• 5.9% Canadians suffer from depression every year.

• Depression, world-wide, is the single most burdensome illness during the middle years of life.

• According to the World Health Organization, depression will rank second only to heart disease as the leading cause of disability worldwide by the year 2020.

• No other condition accounts for even half the burden of depression.

• Every day 500,000 Cdns stay away from work due to mental illness

• Mental disability equals 30-40% of claims by Canada's major insurers and employers.

• A Statistics Canada survey found:

- Women at work are two times more likely than to have depression than men.
- Two million Canadians suffer from mental illness at any given time.
- Half a million workers experience depression that affects their work.
- The Canadian Institute of Health Research invested $70 million in 2008/09 in mental health research.

• 70% of those living with depression are active in the workplace.

• Mental health problems often faced during prime working years - more responsibilities.

• Depression, world-wide, is the single most burdensome illness during the middle years of life.

• According to the World Health Organization, depression will rank second only to heart disease as the leading cause of disability worldwide by the year 2020.

• No other condition accounts for even half the burden of depression.

• Disability represents anywhere from 4% to 12% of Canadian payroll costs; mental health claims have overtaken cardiovascular disease as the fastest growing category of disability costs.

• 1998, Health Canada estimated the economic burden of mental health at $14.4 billion per year.

• 2000, Health Canada's "A Cost of Illness" study found the total economic costs of mental disorders and substance abuse (in Ontario) to be $55.3 billion per year.