Not One More: Angus Launches Campaign for National Suicide Prevention Action Plan

OTTAWA – Today, NDP Indigenous Youth Critic, Charlie Angus, officially launched a national campaign on his motion M-174, calling for a National Suicide Prevention Action Plan. Suicide is one of the top ten leading causes of death in Canada, and is second among young people. These numbers rise in some Indigenous communities, particularly those in remote, isolated and rural areas.

“It is completely unacceptable that Canada is one of the only developed countries in the world that does not have a national suicide prevention plan,” said Angus. “We are losing people, young and old, on a daily and weekly basis across the country. We need a strong federal plan that addresses the gaps in data collection, social factors, and special challenges for different communities, including Indigenous communities, and we need it now.”

The plan laid out in M-174 will create a whole of government approach to reducing suicide by enacting a national public health surveillance program for suicide prevention; a commitment to priorities articulated by Indigenous representative organizations; best practice guidelines for prevention and care; national training standards and media knowledge tools, among other provisions. In Quebec, a comprehensive suicide prevention strategy cut the province’s suicide rate by a third, and the youth suicide rate by over 50%.

As part of this campaign, Angus will be fostering a national conversation and travelling the country to engage people, organizations, and community leaders to come together on this critical issue.

“We cannot sit idly by and watch as too many lives end far too soon. Communities have been speaking up on this for a long time, and with every day that passes, the threat of yet another loss remains imminent. By working together, we can become a country where not one more life is so tragically lost to suicide.”