OPSEU Local 720

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Thunder Bay, ON
OPSEU Local 720

We are SJCG - Health Centre & Supportive Homes & Pharmacy, CMHA Thunder Bay, & Elevate Northwest.

We represent OPSEU/SEFPO members in the following workplaces as a composite local:
-Canadian Mental Health Association Thunder Bay Branch
-Elevate
-SJCG Registered Nurses
-SJCG Paramedical, Office and Clerical, and Service
-SJCG Pharmacy

01/21/2026

Bell Lets Talk Day…

The campaign began in 2011 with the goal of encouraging open dialogue and funding mental health initiatives across Canada. But as it has grown into a national brand, it has also come with responsibility. When corporations and employers publicly align themselves with mental health advocacy, that commitment must extend beyond a single day of awareness.

If employers are going to promote Bell Let’s Talk Day and speak the language of care and psychological safety, they also need to walk the talk the other 364 days of the year. That means supporting their own workers, addressing burnout and unsafe workloads, bringing meaningful proposals to bargaining tables, and ensuring the people we serve have access to basic dignity and care.

Frontline workers see the disconnect clearly when mental health is celebrated publicly while staffing remains inadequate and workers are left to carry the impact of underfunding.

Mental health cannot be treated as a public relations exercise. It requires real investment, real support, and real accountability.

On Bell Let’s Talk Day, we support open conversation and we continue to push for action that matches the words.

01/20/2026

Hello OPSEU SEFPO Local 720,
Please see the message below from the OPSEU SEFPO Thunder Bay and District Area Council and Region 7 Equity Committee Members. Everyone is invited to attend. Registation link in message below.

Region 7 members — your OPSEU/SEFPO Region 7 Equity Committee, in conjunction with the TBDAC, is hosting a Human Trafficking Awareness Seminar on February 22nd, from 1:00–4:00 PM at the regional office on Memorial.

This important seminar will include:

A survivor of human trafficking sharing their lived experience

An educational presentation by the Joy Smith Foundation

A panel discussion with opportunities for learning and reflection

This is a meaningful opportunity to deepen our understanding, build awareness, and engage in informed dialogue on an issue that impacts communities across Ontario.

📝 Registration is required.

Please sign up by February 16th using the link below:

👉 https://forms.gle/4jm8kvF8oSJDb4tcA

We encourage all Region 7 members to attend and take part in this important conversation.

This event will be offered hybrid as well as inperson at OPSEU SEFPO Regional Office on Memorial Ave.

01/08/2026

Many public service workers rush towards emergencies. Why do we abandon them when their courage causes them mental harm? By Wendy Lee, Local 575, InSolidarity Committee Violence. Extreme distress. Catastrophic injuries and wounds. For many front-line workers, these are an inevitable part of the job,...

12/20/2025

People over profit!

Ontario’s mental-health system is being quietly pushed toward privatization, and that should worry all of us.

Under Doug Ford, more publicly funded mental-health services are being delivered through private, for-profit providers instead of strengthening the public system we already have.

This is often sold as “increasing access” or “reducing wait times,” but that’s not what’s happening on the ground.

When services are privatized, workers don’t magically appear — they’re pulled out of hospitals, community mental-health programs, and crisis services. That leaves public programs more understaffed than they already are.

Private models also tend to focus on short-term, quick-turnover care. That might work for mild or situational issues, but it fails people living with complex trauma, serious mental illness, or long-term needs who require consistent, relationship-based support.

It also creates a two-tier system. People who can pay out of pocket get faster or more complete care. Everyone else waits — or falls through the cracks. Mental-health care should be based on need, not income.

There’s also far less transparency. Public mental-health services are accountable to communities and the public. Private providers answer to contracts, metrics, and profit margins.

And when people don’t get proper mental-health support early, the costs don’t disappear — they show up later in emergency rooms, hospitals, policing, child welfare, and the justice system. That’s worse for people and more expensive for taxpayers.

You don’t fix a mental-health crisis by turning care into a business.

The answer is properly funding public mental-health services, keeping skilled workers in the system, and providing long-term, consistent care — not outsourcing it.

Mental-health care is health care. It shouldn’t depend on your ability to pay.

If this concerns you, don’t ignore it. Talk about it. Share this. Ask questions. Reach out to your MPP and let them know that publicly funded mental-health care matters to you. Listen to frontline workers and people with lived experience, and support public services in your community. These decisions change when people pay attention — silence is how this happens quietly. Mental-health care works best when it’s public, accountable, and built around people, not profit.

OPSEU SEFPO Mental Health & Addictions Division

10/10/2025

October 10 is .

OPSEU/SEFPO recognizes the deep dedication and compassion of the more than 8,000 members working in Mental Health and Addictions services across Ontario.

Our members work tirelessly every day, even as demand for services rises and resources shrink. Sustained investment in mental health and addictions services is urgently needed to ensure safe, effective, and accessible support for all Ontarians.

Mental health is also a workers’ issue. From burnout and stress to precarious work and underfunded services, too many workers face barriers to getting the support they deserve. Across OPSEU/SEFPO, we will continue to challenge stigma, fight for funding for the services people rely on, and organize for safer, more equitable workplaces and communities.

Address

326 Memorial Avenue
Thunder Bay, ON
P7B3Y3

Website

http://www.opseu.org/

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