When it comes to intentional injuries and suicide, I think there are a number of things that possibly get in the way—the stigma around suicide, the shame.... Suicide is shrouded in secrecy, and I think that's a barrier. Because suicide is so complex and requires a multi-faceted approach, I think the task sometimes feels overwhelming, and people say they're just going to walk away from it. It's not like coming up with a pill or an injection that you can give to prevent something. As Louis was saying, it's very preventable, but it really requires a collaborative approach. I think those are some of the things that get in the way.
To address your second question, there are a lot of wonderful things happening throughout Canada around suicide prevention, and they're making a huge difference. One of the problems, on which we need the federal government to show some leadership, is that one region doesn't know what another region is doing. There are no opportunities to learn from each other and to engage in conversations to find out that something worked here and may work there.
I was on a flight with one of your colleagues recently, and we were having this conversation. The response was that you don't send an electrician to do a plumber's job, meaning that you don't send in the federal government to do the job of the provinces or territories. My response was: that's true; the electrician doesn't tell the plumber what to do, but you need both to build a house, and more importantly, you need a contractor, somebody who can facilitate communication.
We have no knowledge broker, no one who can help synthesize the research and help us put research into practice and into policy. As Louis or Paul was saying about developing best practices, they're there, but we're not sharing them. The role of the federal government is to show some leadership, I believe, in helping us to coordinate—not to tell the provinces or territories what to do, but to help to exchange the information.