On March 8, 2023, leaders in the agricultural sector from across Canada will convene for the first annual National Symposium on Agricultural Mental Health. This free, virtual symposium will be hosted by The Guardian Network and the Canadian Centre for Agricultural Wellbeing and The Guardian Network, an Agriculture Wellness Ontario program run by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario, and funded by the governments of Canada and Ontario. Registration is now open at NSAMH.ca
The National Symposium on Agricultural Mental Health has been established to connect mental health groups, researchers, government officials and policy makers, members of Canada’s agricultural community including agricultural associations and producer groups, individual advocates, and most importantly farmers to address the challenges and opportunities of the farmer mental health movement across the country.
The event includes a special keynote by Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton, DVM, PhD, a veterinarian, epidemiologist, and Director of Well-Being Programming for the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph. The Canadian Centre for Agricultural Wellbeing (CCAW) is a national, not-forprofit organization for research, program development, policy, and engagement around mental health in Canadian farming. The CCAW works with established and developing grassroots, communitybased organizations across the country, to provide critical, evidenced based programming, to the agricultural community.
The Guardian Network is a volunteer suicide prevention program which supports Ontario’s farming community and is a social enterprise of CMHA Ontario. As part of the Agriculture Wellness Ontario suite of programs, it aims to bring mental health education, counselling services and enhanced community support to rural and agricultural communities across the province.
Visit NSAMH.ca to view the full list of presenting organizations and speakers and register. This project is paid for in part by the governments of Canada and Ontario through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (the Partnership), a five-year, federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
