Gun lockers distributed in Old Crow, Yukon, to help curb suicides

Yukon's most remote community is distributing gun lockers as an attempt to reduce the number of gun-related suicides. 

Last weekend during Caribou Days in Old Crow RCMP constable Chris Christinger handed out more than a dozen firearm storage lockers and lockable cases.

Christinger says a properly stored firearm isn't a guarantee against suicide, but says it adds more steps to the process. He hopes those few extra steps could make a difference. 

"Access to guns is very easy here. In the heat of the moment, if someone's just seeking attention or just experimenting, an accident could happen," he said. 

Corporal Karina Watson says the 10-gun lockers can cost more than $350. Adding a freight cost of $1 per pound to ship to the community makes buying gun storage lockers in Old Crow unaffordable for many families.

The lockers were provided by the Yukon government and flown to Old Crow in an RCMP plane. 

Christinger says gun safety is a priority put forward by the chief and council of Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, and hopes to see the program expanded in the future.

He says the program is geared towards young men because they are statistically more likely to take their lives with a gun. 

While Nunavut and N.W.T. lead the country in suicides it is far less prevalent in Yukon. The territory has the third-lowest rate in the country, after Ontario and P.E.I.