We have done many things to improve suicide prevention within the Canadian Forces. As I mentioned earlier, mental illness is one of the key elements of suicide, so we have done a lot to improve the programs and services that we offer clinically to decrease the impact of mental illness. For example, in the past 10 years or so, we've doubled the number of mental health clinicians working in our clinics. We have increased the number of operational stress support centres. We have brought on line a resiliency program that helps people to better manage their own levels of stress, as well as to identify when they themselves need to come forward for care. Outside of health services, the army, for example, knowing that its suicide rate is higher, has recently implemented what it calls the “sentinels program”, which is a peer-based program in which certain members of a unit get special training so that they can more easily identify their colleagues who are having difficulties and encourage them to come forward for care.
The army has also implemented a program that they call CAIPS. I can't remember what the acronym stands for right now, but basically it is another form of resiliency program that deals with different aspects of people's lives, from family to spiritual, to medical, to physical fitness, and so on. A lot of things have been put in place to tackle the problem of mental illness, and therefore, suicide as well.