King addresses mental health, clean tech sector in state of province speech

Premier Dennis King says the province has to make it easier for Islanders to navigate and access the appropriate mental health and addictions services on P.E.I.

King gave his state of the province address to the rotary clubs on P.E.I. Monday night.

He said beginning this year, the province will introduce a single point of access for mental health and addictions services on P.E.I.

"It will be a 24-hour line, seven days a week, where a real human being answers the phone and helps to navigate the process of getting the appropriate treatment," he said.

The province also plans to establish a P.E.I. Centre for Mental Wellbeing, a dedicated organization, funded by but independent of government, that will work with community organizations like the Canadian Mental Health Association, PEERS Alliance, the Boys and Girls Club, and others to create a co-ordinated network of services that are available for Islanders when they need them.

"The centre will get off the ground immediately, with a founding board of high performing leaders from across our province who will build a solid foundation for the centre to be fully operational by fall 2021," he said.

King said this year the government will also embark on a plan to build P.E.I.'s clean tech sector, supporting P.E.I.-based companies to develop and deploy competitive, clean technology solutions. He said it will help solve some of P.E.I.'s most pressing environmental challenges: climate change, clean air, clean water and clean soil.

"Our aim is to encourage leading-edge development that will provide solutions needed to combat climate change."

To help meet those challenges, he said the province will establish:

• A $50 million investment fund for new business development or existing businesses to scale up in clean technology solutions.
• Three tax-free development zones that will provide opportunities for clean tech businesses to cluster and take advantage of common services and supports to accelerate their work.
• A $10 million research and development fund to work on the ideas and solutions we don't yet know.

"And on top of these investments, we are committed to creating the talent-pool needed for this sector by working with our post-secondary institutions. The time is now. By 2030, it is our goal to see the creation of over 2,000 jobs in the clean tech sector here on P.E.I."

More from CBC P.E.I.