Content warning: Please note that this article addresses suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger or in need of urgent support, call 911. The Government of Canada also provides a list of resources to help those in crisis.

In late April 2023, almost a month before they had to flee wildfires in northern Alberta, members of Mikisew Cree First Nation were facing another crisis.

Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro declared a state of emergency following multiple suicides and suicide attempts in the Fort Chipewyan First Nation community. He pleaded for urgent mental health support, including a crisis response team and long-term provincial and federal funding.

“We cannot stand by anymore and pretend that this is not a real issue,” he said in a video posted to social media.

Indigenous communities have long been overrepresented in Canada’s national suicide rate, and the federal government’s response — a buzzword-laden Suicide Prevention Framework established in 2016 — has done little to change this reality.

While the framework’s mission is to “prevent suicide in Canada,” a report by the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology has found that the framework is more focused on feel-good words than evidence-based solutions.

The framework’s lack of tangible solutions for Indigenous communities is especially jarring, as this demographic appears to be the main driver of Canada’s suicide rate, which has hovered at around 11 or 12 per 100,000 people annually since 2000. This “stable” statistic glosses over the fact that First Nations, Métis and Inuit are more likely to die of suicide. For Inuit communities, the suicide rate is anywhere between 6 and 25 times higher than the national average.

As University of British Columbia psychiatry professor Dr. Tyler Black told the committee, the risk of suicide is not inherent to Indigenous people “but a reflection of the traumas inflicted by colonization and systemic discrimination.”

To address the mental health challenges particular to Indigenous communities, we need culturally appropriate crisis services developed by and for Indigenous people. We need to broaden suicide prevention funding to include initiatives focused on earlier interventions that may prevent Indigenous people from reaching a crisis point in the first place. Natan Obed, President of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said suicide prevention should start with the basics: providing children with food, education, and a safe, healthy and loving environment.

An updated version of the suicide prevention framework must also consider the needs of men and boys, a demographic that accounts for a staggering 75% of all suicides. The committee heard that men are less likely to seek therapy or social supports and use more lethal suicide methods, such as firearms. This statistic also suggests a lingering stigma around men struggling with mental health, despite the many “it’s okay to not be okay” conversations that have played out in public forums in recent years.

The committee did not hear as much testimony about Indigenous boys and men, which demonstrates a need for more in-depth research.

To help identify at-risk groups and develop evidence-based suicide prevention solutions, we need timely, standardized data collection across all jurisdictions. We also need disaggregated data to pinpoint the populations overrepresented in the suicide rate, including 2SLGBTQI+ and Indigenous communities. Many Indigenous organizations simply lack the capacity to do this type of data collection on their own.

Thankfully, Carolyn Bennett — who was the minister for mental health and addictions during the Senate committee study — acknowledged the weaknesses in the Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention and said an updated version should be released this fall.

She has also announced a new crisis support hotline that will consolidate all suicide support numbers into one simple 988 number. Starting November 30, it will be easier for those in crisis to pick up a phone and call for help.

And last fall, the federal government earmarked $11 million in funding for the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s Inuit-led and evidence-based National Inuit Suicide Prevention Strategy.

These are small, but welcome steps.

But until Canada develops an evidence-based national strategy tailored to the varied needs of First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, as well as boys and men, then we will not see any meaningful change to Canada’s suicide rate. 

In the words of Chief Tuccaro, we cannot stand by anymore.

Senator Patrick Brazeau is a member of the Algonquin community of Kitigan Zibi and an advocate for suicide prevention. He represents the senatorial division of Repentigny in Quebec.

Senator Stan Kutcher is a psychiatrist and a member of the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology. He represents Nova Scotia in the Senate.

Senator Ratna Omidvar is chair of the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology. She represents Ontario in the Senate.

This article appeared in the September 27, 2023 edition of The Hill Times.

Note to readers: The Honourable Ratna Omidvar retired from the Senate of Canada in Novembre, 2024. Learn more about her work in Parliament.