The Saskatchewan government has released a new suicide prevention plan that, it says, will promote life and reduce risk factors related to suicide in the province.
The plan is called Pillars for Life: The Saskatchewan Suicide Prevention Plan and was released Friday by Rural and Remote Health Minister Warren Kaeding, as a collaborative approach to suicide prevention. Kaeding says mental health continues to be high priority for the government, health system and communities and this plan will guide activities specific to suicide prevention based on Saskatchewan context. Some of the actions outlined include expanded use and monitoring of suicide protocols and enhancement of research, data and surveillance for local suicide prevention.
Kaeding recognized the efforts of NDP Critic for Northern Affairs, Doyle Vermette, who introduced Bill 618 last November, the Saskatchewan Strategy for Suicide Prevention Act. Families from Saskatchewan’s north joined Vermette, with the message that there needed to be more involvement with the government, to plan and implement suicide awareness and prevention. Opposition Deputy Leader Nicole Sarauer said between 2005 and 2019, more than 2200 people in Saskatchewan died by suicide. At that time Health Minister Jim Reiter replied that he recognized the seriousness of the issue and had asked the Ministry to look at other provinces with suicide prevention strategies and would check to see if there are any gaps in Saskatchewan’s Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan.
Leaders of the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation at Loon Lake have lobbied for a regional suicide prevention program as the northern Saskatchewan community struggled with a suicide crisis.
A state of emergency was declared last November (2019) following three suicides over three weeks, including one of a 10-year-old girl. Minister Kaeding, says Saskatchewan’s new plan includes public awareness efforts aimed at northern indigenous youth, a population with a suicide rate significantly higher than the general youth population.
The Provincial auditor’s report released in December last year indicated that for the last three years the rate of suicide in North Battleford, Meadow Lake and La Loche has been higher than the provincial rate. Kaeding states, Saskatchewan is one of six provinces that has now implemented the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s Roots of Hope program which has been established in La Ronge, Meadow Lake and Buffalo Narrows. The provincial auditor also said the Saskatchewan Health Authority was not giving enough training to staff working with suicidal patients in those parts of the province. The auditor’s report said those at risk of suicide typically go to emergency rooms or use mental-health outpatient supports, but staff don’t always properly screen or assess them. Kaeding says the plan will provide services and guidance to mental health professionals, health care providers and those involved in mental health education. The plan he says, involves government relations, education and justice in a coordinated approach to preventing suicide in the province.
