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Ontario’s construction industry has made good progress in dealing with mental health and addictions issues, but suicides and drug overdoses are still exceedingly high for workers in the sector.

That was the blunt message from industry professionals and authorities who spoke at an online webinar on the topic hosted by the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON).

“We are going in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go,” explained RESCON vice-president Andrew Pariser who moderated the annual event.

The two-hour webinar, titled Mental Health and Addictions in Construction, marked the seventh time the association has held such an event. The sponsor was Sherrard Kuzz LLP.

Pariser noted when the first event was held, many in the industry found it difficult to talk about mental health issues due to being stigmatized, but now people are less afraid of speaking out.

However, issues persist.

“The one issue that is still apparent is, especially within construction where everybody wants to seem tough and everybody wants to seem OK, there seems to be a recognition that mental health is an issue, and it’s OK for other people to have mental health issues. But people are still, you know, less willing to admit that they might need help themselves,” said Pariser.

When the webinars were started, the statistics indicated one in four people would be impacted by a mental health issue in their lifetime, he said, but today that figure is much higher.

“You either are impacted by it, you know someone who’s impacted by it, or you’re just not being honest with yourself.”

The construction industry takes the issue seriously and continues to make inroads, said Pariser.

“Mental health isn’t a side issue within the construction industry. It’s a core part of safety, culture and the long-term strength of our workforce.”

Kate Cowan, director of training, awareness, and prevention at the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, told the webinar statistics show mental health matters are still an issue for many construction workers and that suicide is still a major problem.

Presently, she said, one in three construction workers report poor mental health and 83 per cent have experienced moderate to severe mental health issues, including depression and anxiety.

Suicide rates in construction are 53 per 100,000 workers, nearly four times the national average, while construction worker deaths by suicide outnumber on-the-job fatalities from accidents by a ratio of roughly four to one. 

In 2020, 2,500 Ontarians died from drug overdoses, and 30 per cent of those were construction workers.

Cowan said the industry is disproportionately affected because of the nature of the work, which includes long hours, seasonal work and job insecurity and a culture that values toughness.

“When nearly half of workers report depression or anxiety, it’s not an individual problem, it’s an industry challenge.”

Construction is one of the most demanding professions, physically, mentally and emotionally, said Cowan, but traditionally, mental health issues have been stigmatized in the industry, and many who work in the sector often feel pressure to push through rather than seek help.

She added, “the silence is costly, impacting safety, productivity, and lives.”

To tackle the problem, the mental health of construction workers must be treated like any other critical workplace safety issue.

“We build the foundations of cities, but we must also build foundations for the people who make it all possible.”

To tackle the problem, Cowan suggested companies establish programs that train people how to recognize the signs of distress, prioritize programs to help people with mental health and addictions issues, and make mental health part of the culture, with toolbox talks on the issue.

“For industry leaders, we request that you advocate for policies that prioritize mental health resources and addiction recovery programs. Stats show that 25 per cent of tradespeople use substances daily or weekly to cope. We need to address root causes and not just symptoms.”

Employee assistance programs that offer mental health days and confidential counselling can also make a difference, she noted, and there are downloadable apps for checking mental health.

The efforts matter, as 77 per cent of tradespeople experience stress, 62 per cent report anxiety and 50 per cent report burnout, said Cowan.

Associate Attorney General Michael Tibollo said it is alarming that up to 750 construction workers in Ontario are dying each year from overdoses of opioids.

“We need to take responsibility in terms of how best to approach the issue to provide better supports.”

The best way to deal with a mental health issue is to address it as early as possible, Tibollo said.

“It’s not just about educating the construction worker, it’s making sure that those resources are also available to the family because, at the end of the day when the individual goes home, he still goes into an environment that needs to be supportive, that needs to be decompressing in nature.”