Evidence of meeting #35 for Health in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendments.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Madam Chair, I am removing amendment Lib-5 and replacing it with the new amendment that I will read for you.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
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.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Currently training models are available in Canada. For example, the Mental Health Commission of Canada offers the mental health first aid course, and the applied suicide intervention skills training program--ASIST--is available to all Canadians. These programs have been provided to some populations within federal jurisdiction.
Enhancing certification and training guidelines for Canadians would entail additional resources and go beyond the scope of the bill. This amendment may require royal recommendation, as it has resource implications and is not feasible within existing resources.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Madam Chair, I wondered if I could read the words of this amendment again. It doesn't say “enhancing”; it just says “providing suicide prevention guidelines”.
My colleague suggested these guidelines already exist, and as a physician I can tell you they do not exist, because I have worked with people who have mental illness and who have attempted suicide and committed suicide. Therefore, if, as my honourable colleague tells me, they do exist, then surely as the federal government accepts this bill and provides the framework they can put them all in one place for this group for whom they are absolutely responsible. If they don't wish to do this they would be reneging on their responsibility to this particular group of Canadians, who are already at extremely high risk.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Of course I don't agree with my colleague's evaluation. As I said, these programs are available to all Canadians. Mr. Albrecht was very specific; he didn't want specific populations put in his bill. He did his homework on this bill.
I think we should vote this down.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Joy Smith
We will have a recorded vote.
(Amendment negatived: nays 6; yeas 5)
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Madam Chair, as you can see, that reads “...providing guidelines to support persons impacted by suicidal behaviour and suicide”. I don't think I need to speak to it; it's particularly clear.
9:55 a.m.
Conservative
Colin Carrie Conservative Oshawa, ON
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
The inference of this amendment is to provide guidelines to family members impacted by suicide. Public health guidelines are developed for medical practitioners and other professionals only. Developing guidelines for Canadians impacted by suicide is beyond the scope of the bill.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
I didn't think I would have to speak to this, Madam Chair, but I guess I'm going to have to.
I'm actually supporting persons impacted by suicidal behaviour. For those of us who do work within the health care field, and work with mental health and people who have attempted and committed suicide, I can tell you that when I was a minister and I went up to areas such as Iqaluit and into first nations reserves, we're talking about whole communities here, not simply individuals. It is outside the scope of medical practice to provide that kind of support system, because it is too large.
In schools where a child has committed suicide, the whole school needs to have some sort of ability to provide support systems. They require some guidelines to know how to do this really well, because we well know that school counsellors do not have that ability. Whole communities grieve and are bereaved by a suicide of a person in the community.
In Inuit and first nations communities, this is not just one person. I have been to communities in Iqaluit where I sat with my own deputy minister, and the two of us had tears rolling down silently on our faces when we heard a grandmother tell us that every single one of her children, 12 of them, had committed suicide within the last five years, and that the last one to do so was a son who was 20 years old and who committed suicide on Christmas Eve. She said she was glad that he did, because she knew that at least he would be at peace and not have to live with the pain and stress he lived with.
If a mother has to say that she's pleased that her child has passed away, I have to tell you that this is something that requires help, because everything we know about suicide is that when a person commits suicide in a community, the whole community becomes immediately at risk, especially in school systems.
This is an essential part of what the intent of this bill is, which is to establish a federal framework for suicide prevention and to look at the Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention Act, which this is. Secondary prevention will occur when you give support to bereaved communities and not just to an individual.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Madam Chair, I move that Bill C-300, in clause 2, be amended by adding after line 30 on page 2 the following:
(vii) establishing a national distress line network and a national suicide bereavement support network.
Madam Chair, I put this forward because it is already there. I will not withdraw it, but I know that it will not pass, so I won't even bother to speak to it. It is, again, self-evident.
