Mr. Speaker, tonight Parliament will vote on Motion No. 174 to establish a national suicide prevention action plan. Canada is the only G7 country without a plan, yet suicide cuts across all political, cultural and economic spectrums. We lose 4,000 people every year to suicide, and each one of those deaths hits communities and families like a shock wave of grief. Quebec established a plan and dropped youth suicide rates by 50%. It is time the Parliament of Canada stepped up.
I began this journey in the dark night of the northern suicide crisis, but I was inspired by the determination of youth leaders like Randall Crowe, of Treaty 9, who keep kicking at the darkness until it bleeds daylight. Since then I have met so many amazing activists, like Jack Hicks, Courtney Taylor and Lynne Sutcliffe, who are making hope a reality on the ground. It is time Parliament joined with them.
I am asking my colleagues to stand together tonight and vote for Motion No. 174 to establish a national suicide prevention action plan.