That is a great question, Madam Chair. We know that just on suicide prevention alone, 11 Canadians each and every day die by suicide. We know a further 275 Canadians attempt suicide. The reality is we know that those statistics are probably even greater because of the stigma associated with suicide. The same goes with overdose and drug abuse. There is such a stigma attached to suicide, mental illness, mental health and drug addiction that many families do not come forward. They are ashamed to bring it forward. They are afraid to speak about it.
We live in a world where time is money and money is everything. Nobody has the time to really look at their neighbour and ask them them how they are doing. We do not want to get involved. We are afraid of what the answer is going to be. We have to do more. We have to care more.
I shared my story today, not to bring sympathy on me or my brother. I share it because my hope is that we break that stigma and that we show families who are dealing with the same issues, or even members of Parliament who are here tonight that it is okay not to be okay, and it is okay to bring these stories forward and show Canadians who do not have the same platform that we can share that, so they can see there is hope. Right now there are so many Canadians who are struggling and families who have no place to turn. They are afraid to come forward. If they see us talking about this, maybe they will come forward and maybe they will seek help as well.