Madam Speaker, 2020 has been a challenging year. Lives and livelihoods have been lost. We have begun to see the devastating impacts that COVID has had, through isolation, on the mental health of Canadians. The rates of suicide are growing at alarming rates. As elected officials and as leaders, and especially during this period of difficulty as a nation, Canadians are counting on us.
I know, like me, many of our colleagues have experienced the pain, loss, guilt and anger of suicide. My office has received countless messages, calls and emails from friends and families of those who have taken their lives. I have heard from those who are suffering silently. They have reached out to say, “thank you” for fighting for them, for giving them hope. Their stories are heartbreaking, but we must do better than just give them hope. We can leave a legacy of action by breaking the stigma associated with mental illness and mental injury and eliminating unnecessary barriers for Canadians who choose to seek help.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. I hope that as leaders and parliamentarians, our final act in our most challenging year is one of action, because, when minutes count, help should only be three digits away.
There have been consultations, in fact I have consulted every single member of the chamber, and if you seek it, Madam Speaker, I hope you will find unanimous consent for the following motion:
That, given that the alarming rate of suicide in Canada constitutes a national health crisis, the House call on the government to take immediate action, in collaboration with our provinces, to establish a national suicide prevention hotline that consolidates all suicide crisis numbers into one easy to remember three-digit (988) hotline that is accessible to all Canadians.