Pressure is mounting for Canada to establish a three-digit suicide crisis hotline similar to the one implemented by the United States this weekend.
The new 988 mental health hotline American authorities launched on Saturday will, once fully operational, offer residents struggling with suicidal thoughts an easy-to-remember number that will connect them with trained mental health counsellors rather than police.
Mental health advocates have been pushing for a similar system in Canada. The House of Commons unanimously voted in favour of establishing a three-digit suicide prevention number in 2020, but those working in the field of suicide prevention said the “gold standard” now established south of the border makes it clear that Canada has some catching up to do.
Sheryl Boswell, the executive director of Youth Mental Health Canada, said Canada should act fast to establish one.
“We need to adopt best practices from other countries and go beyond that to do much better than what we’re doing,” she said in a telephone interview on Sunday. “Let’s hope it doesn’t take years to adopt 988 in Canada.”
Dr. Allison Crawford, the chief medical officer for Talk Suicide Canada and a psychiatrist with Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, said a system like 988 would both show those struggling with mental health crises that suicide prevention is taken seriously and make it easier for Canadians to access urgent help.
Canadian MPs voted unanimously in favour of Conservative MP Todd Doherty’s motion to establish a nationwide three-digit suicide hotline in December 2020, but the project is still under evaluation. Doherty is pictured in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Nov. 30, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
The growing demand for mental health services spurred in part by the COVID-19 pandemic makes the need for such a system particularly pressing, she added.
“There are huge mental health needs in our communities and that’s only grown over the last number of years,” she said.
“I see this as one important access point into a mental health service that I think needs renewal,” she added, noting she’d also like to see improvements in wraparound mental health support that go beyond crisis services.
Crisis system ‘never doing enough’
Statistics Canada reported in 2021 that on average more than 10 Canadians die by suicide every day, and Boswell said it’s expected that 446 people aged 10 to 24 will die by suicide each year.
Given the rates of suicide in Canada, Boswell said the country is “never doing enough” in terms of supporting those who struggle with suicidal thoughts.
“And one death by suicide is too many,” she added.
One of many benefits of a 988 number, Boswell said, would be eliminating the involvement of police for wellness checks.
“A three-digit number for mental health crisis and support is what we need, not 911 criminalizing mental health. Not police response in uniforms and marked police cars,” she said.
“This is a health crisis and we need a compassionate health response.”
Hotline delays criticized
Pressure to take action is mounting in the political realm, too.
Todd Doherty, Conservative Member of Parliament for Cariboo-Prince George, B.C. who introduced the successful motion to establish a centralized hotline system back in 2020, said in a recent statement he’s disappointed in what he calls the government’s “shameful lack of action” on the issue.
“Despite receiving the support of grassroots and national mental health organizations, municipalities from across the country and the unanimous support of parliamentarians, this lifesaving initiative remains unavailable to Canadians and its status continues to be unknown,” the statement read.
A Health Canada spokesperson said the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) was evaluating how the number could be introduced, and the department expected a decision later this year.
The department “recognizes the importance of everyone in Canada having access to critical mental health and suicide prevention resources,” read an emailed statement.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is also currently trying to estimate the expected demand for this hotline and plan for managing increased call volumes, the spokesperson added.
Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett says the federal government is waiting for the CRTC to complete its evaluation of the suicide hotline project. Bennett is pictured in Ottawa on March 10, 2020. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
The CRTC launched consultations on the project in June of last year. The period to offer comments was extended until mid-March of this year after some in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community asked to make submissions in sign language.
The CRTC did not immediately respond to request for comment.
In April, Carolyn Bennett, the federal minister for mental health and addictions, acknowledged it was taking her government “a long time” to set up the hotline.
She said the project’s future timeline would depend in part on what the CRTC concluded.
Where to get help
Canada Suicide Prevention Service: 1-833-456-4566 (Phone) | 45645 (Text, 4 p.m. to midnight ET only) crisisservicescanada.ca
In Quebec (French): Association québécoise de prévention du suicide: 1-866-APPELLE (1-866-277-3553)
Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 (Phone), Live Chat counselling at www.kidshelpphone.ca
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Dolphins will bring in another quarterback while starter Tua Tagovailoa deals with his latest concussion, coach Mike McDaniel said Friday.
For now, Skylar Thompson will be considered the Dolphins’ starter while Tagovailoa is sidelined. Tagovailoa left Thursday night’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo in the third quarter with the third known concussion of his NFL career, all of them coming in the last 24 months.
“The team and the organization are very confident in Skylar,” McDaniel said.
McDaniel said the team has not made any decision about whether to place Tagovailoa on injured reserve. Tagovailoa was expected at the team facility on Friday to start the process of being evaluated in earnest.
“We just have to operate in the unknown and be prepared for every situation,” McDaniel said, noting that the only opinions that will matter to the team will be the ones from Tagovailoa and the medical staff.
McDaniel added that he doesn’t see Tagovailoa playing in Miami’s next game at Seattle on Sept. 22.
“I have no idea and I’m not going to all of a sudden start making decisions that I don’t even see myself involved in the most important parts of,” McDaniel added. “All I’m telling Tua is everyone is counting on you to be a dad and be a dad this weekend. And then we’ll move from there. There won’t be any talk about where we’re going in that regard … none of that will happen without doctors’ expertise and the actual player.”
Tagovailoa was 17 for 25 passing for 145 yards, with one touchdown and three interceptions — one of which was returned for a Buffalo score — when he got hurt. Thompson completed eight of 14 passes for 80 yards.
Thompson said he feels “fully equipped” to run the Dolphins’ offense.
“What’s going to lie ahead, who knows, but man, I’m confident, though,” Thompson said after Thursday’s game. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever’s to come. I’m going to prepare and work hard and do everything I can to lead this team and do my job.”
TORONTO – Unifor says workers at a Walmart warehouse in Mississauga, Ont., have voted to join the union.
The union says it’s Walmart’s first warehouse to unionize in Canada.
Unifor national president Lana Payne says the employees stood up for their rights and the union is excited to get to work on their first collective agreement.
Unifor’s campaign at Walmart’s facility began in December 2023.
The vote was held from Sept. 10 to 12.
Unifor represents 315,000 workers across the country.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
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