Action must follow budget promises, say mental-health advocates By Rachel Emmanuel. Published on Apr 23, 2021 5:10pm Conservative MP Todd Doherty (Facebook photo) The federal budget released Monday included millions of dollars for mental-health initiatives. While not a small amount, actions must swiftly follow in order to save lives, said Conservative MP Todd Doherty. “Time and time again, we see people are slipping through the cracks,” Doherty told iPolitics on Friday. “We just have to do more.” On Wednesday, B.C. first responders were called to 138 overdoses in 24 hours — nearly double the usual number of calls a day, which is 74. A poll conducted by the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Ontario division in March found that people’s mental health was worse than ever due to COVID, even before the province entered its third lockdown.