NATIONAL BASKET CASE

BELL wants to be a good citizen.

It supports February 9th as some kind of national mental health day.

The full page ad in the Globe today tells me so.

Unfortunately, it also tells me that "One in five Canadians suffers from mental illness."

This is not true.

There is no scientific or even pseudo-scientific evidence to support this absurd claim.

Think of all the people you know, the people you've met, the folks with whom you interact on a daily basis.

No doubt there are some among them who struggles with a mental illness.

But 1 in 5?

I don't think so.

Why are the so-called social sciences so slip-shod?

If you want me to support a worthy cause, try at least to give me some real and supportable documentation.

At the very least, give me a number that my good instincts can accept as reasonable.