Bill C-300 (Historical)

Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention Act

An Act respecting a Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention

This enactment establishes a requirement for the Government of Canada to develop a federal framework for suicide prevention in consultation with relevant non-governmental organizations, the relevant entity in each province and territory, as well as with relevant federal departments.

Suicide Prevention

[David Sweet, Conservative, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, according to Statistics Canada, the suicide rate in this country was almost double that of the death rate from car crashes in 2007, the most recent year measured. Youth suicides are particularly disconcerting. That year, 421 youth between the ages of 15 and 24 took their own life. That is 421 too many.

Thousands of family members and friends are impacted. As a parent, the anguish they have felt is unthinkable to me. That is why I will be very pleased to stand in this House next month in support of Bill C-300 from the member for Kitchener—Conestoga to establish a federal framework on suicide prevention.

I am confident that the bill will encourage the many outstanding efforts taking place across this country, such as the Jack Project at Kids Help Phone. This project is a legacy of Jack Windeler, a Queen's University student who died by suicide in March 2010. The project's school-based outreach program is now being piloted for a full rollout next school year. We wish them much success.

Suicide

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Wetaskiwin, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have in my hand a petition signed by a number of Canadians primarily from Alberta who want to draw to the attention of the House the fact that suicide is a major issue affecting youth across our country.

The petitioners want to draw the attention of the chamber to Bill C-297 and Bill C-300 currently before Parliament.

Health

[Joy Smith, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the seventh report of the Standing Committee on Health in relation to Bill C-300, an act respecting a federal framework for suicide prevention. The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House without amendment.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

I move that Bill C-300, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing line 12 on page 3 with the following:

force of this Act and every year thereafter,

I wish to say how disappointed I am to see that the Standing Committee on Health has become a farce and that the Conservatives do not clearly wish to have a strong bill. I think they just want to have a piece of paper to show their voters so that they can say that the Conservative government is committed to suicide prevention. But this is obviously not the case. They lack respect for both future victims of suicide and their families.

The saddest thing about this is that I am moving amendments and the Conservatives do not even deign to comment on them, to discuss them or say why they are not going to support them. This shows a lack of cooperation and goodwill. This is a sad day for Canadian democracy. The Conservative members of this committee reject all the amendments moved by the opposition parties. But these amendments were submitted to us by witnesses and various important organizations in Canada. It is really a sad day.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

I move that Bill C-300, in Clause 4, be amended by replacing line 11 on page 3 with the following:

4. Within one year after coming into

From what I gather, the bill would not require the first status report on the situation to be available for four years. I feel, however, especially in politics and for people struggling with suicide or their families, this is really a very long time. I think it would not be unreasonable to ask that a report be made one year after this bill has been passed.

[Hedy Fry, Liberal, Vancouver Centre, BC]

I move that clause 2 in Bill C-300 be amended by adding after line 30 on page 2 the following:

(vii) providing suicide prevention guidelines for training, certification and accreditation for Canadians who work with Inuit, first nations, armed forces, and veterans.

These are all areas within federal jurisdiction, and for which the federal government has direct responsibility for service delivery.

Madam Chair, I move this amendment because we heard from witnesses, we have seen the data, and every piece of evidence tells us that Inuit have an eleven times greater suicide rate than any other group of Canadians; veterans and armed forces tend to come back with post-traumatic stress disorder, which results in a very high level of suicide, again higher than the normal population; and of course first nations have a seven times greater suicide rate.

These are all people who are completely within federal jurisdiction, for whom the federal government delivers services. Therefore the federal government, if it's going to establish a framework, should be establishing and providing suicide prevention guidelines for training, certification, and accreditation for people who work with these very high-risk groups.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

I therefore move that Bill C-300, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 30 on page 2 the following:

(vii) studying the funding arrangements to provide the treatment, education, professional training and other supports required to prevent suicide and assist those bereaved by a suicide.

We are talking about vulnerable populations. We are talking about a Canada-wide approach, assistance, while respecting and protecting provincial jurisdictions. I am not going to talk for much longer.

My colleague, Ms. Block, mentioned that studies on another subject had been done. I would like to ask her whether any studies have been done on this topic.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

My amendment is aimed at that.

I therefore move that Bill C-300, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 30 on page 2 the following:

(vii) assessing and adopting, where appropriate, the recommendations and objectives outlined in the Blueprint for a National Suicide Prevention Strategy of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention.

I hope that the Conservatives do not see in this amendment an intrusion into an area of provincial jurisdiction because, seriously, I do not see any such thing in this amendment.

The reason why this is being proposed is that we have to trust the experts when it comes to suicide prevention. The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention is the right body with which we should work on suicide prevention and not regard ourselves as experts on the subject, when we are simply members of Parliament, in spite of all our goodwill. We have to work with the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention and have respect for the many years they have dedicated to suicide prevention.

I hope that our Conservative members for once will agree to improve this bill.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Madam Chair, I move that Bill C-300, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 30 on page 2 the following:

(vii) assessing access to appropriate and adequate health, wellness and recovery services, including mental health and substance abuse services, for all Canadians, as well as for families and communities.

One of the reasons for this amendment, in addition to the fact that the witnesses we consulted recommended that this be included, is that when we talk about suicide there are vulnerable populations. I will not necessarily name them.

I know that Mr. Albrecht did not want to name them in his bill, but it is very important that the committee consider access to services for vulnerable populations. Since, in the end, even with the best bill in the world, if we do not identify whether these vulnerable populations have access to services, it will be a shortcoming in our suicide prevention strategy. The amendment is designed to make up for this shortcoming.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

My amendment looks a little like that of the Liberals, LIB-4.

I therefore move that Bill C-300, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 30 on page 2 the following:

(vii) establishing national guidelines for best practices in suicide prevention based on evidence in key areas of mental health care.

I do not think that anyone is opposed to having the best possible practices and the best national guidelines respecting best practices. So I would like to hear my Conservative colleagues' reason for not voting in favour of that.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

First I wish to say how sad it is for the victims and their families that we cannot do these studies.

I therefore move that Bill C-300, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 30 on page 2 the following:

(vii) conducting studies on the means to reduce stigma associated with being a consumer of mental health, substance abuse, suicide prevention, intervention and bereavement services.

Yes, suicide is a taboo subject in society, especially for people who wish to admit to a member of their family or to the population in general that they have already had some dark ideas or have tried to commit suicide. Stigmatization in this regard is very important. I believe, as do many of our witnesses, that conducting studies to reduce such stigmatization would be healthier for people who have already thought about suicide or are going to think about it in the future. The problem with suicide is that people retreat into themselves. They feel alone and cannot ask for help for many reasons, including stigmatization. This is why I think, like many other witnesses, that it would be good to do some studies.

Studies do not require a royal recommendation. But I wonder whether the Conservatives are going to oppose this amendment too and, through their lack of action and proactivity within the committee, leave all those people in bereavement.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

I move that Bill C-300, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 30 on page 2 the following:

(vii) conducting studies on the reduction of access to means and methods for persons to harm themselves.

We realize that, where suicide prevention is concerned, there are many unknowns. Unfortunately, when people commit suicide, we do not necessarily know why they killed themselves. Nor do we know what we could have done to prevent it. That is why I think it is important that studies be done, regardless of by whom, to find out more about suicide and, in this case, to reduce access to means and methods for persons to harm themselves. Thank you.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

I move that Bill C-300, in clause 2, be amended by adding after line 30 on page 2 the following:

(vii) establishing national standards for the training of persons engaged in suicide prevention, so that, in their interaction with potentially vulnerable populations, they may better identify individuals who are at risk and direct them to the appropriate assessment and treatment services.

My colleague Colin Carrie mentioned a bit earlier that personnel training was a provincial jurisdiction. That is indeed so. When speaking of training itself. That is why I am happy that this amendment calls for the establishment of national standards. We are not telling the provinces how to do their work, but we are making recommendations that all provinces can use to provide better training for their workers in suicide prevention.

This issue is very complex. These are people who are playing with people's lives. One wrong answer or a wrong word from them might be enough for someone to carry out their idea. People must thus have as many skills as possible.

I think that we could establish national standards for the training of persons engaged in suicide prevention. That is what I had to say on this amendment.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

I move that Bill C-300, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 19 on page 2 the following:

(ii.1) disseminating information about the determinants of health, including economic status — social environment and access to health services — as risk factors for suicide,

We discussed this in the Standing Committee on Health with the representative of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. He said that there were elements that really affected people with regard to suicide. People are not born equal. If we can find out about the causes that may lead to suicide and act on them, we have a better chance of reducing risk factors and thus suicide.

[Dany Morin, NDP, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

I move that Bill C-300, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing lines 17 to 22 with the following:

(ii) supporting and enhancing information systems to disseminate information about suicide and suicide prevention, including improvements to federal-provincial surveillance systems so that current statistics about suicide and related risk factors are available to the public,

The federal government has a fine opportunity with Bill C-300 to become a leader in suicide prevention, on both the national and international levels. If the Government of Canada exercised its role as coordinator and worked with the provinces to help everyone in psychological distress, it would be a very good idea.

This amendment would therefore be one way of strengthening the bill, which is basically very good.