Inuit groups want input into national suicide prevention strategy

Now that Nunavut's premier has declared suicide a crisis in the territory, all eyes are on the newly-elected Liberal government to deliver on its promise of a national suicide prevention strategy.

"It's great that we're going to see a national strategy," says Jack Hicks, a social researcher who specializes in suicide prevention.

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Hicks says that when he was helping develop the Nunavut suicide prevention strategy in 2008 there was no Canadian national centre of expertise to turn to.

"Which is why we looked at countries like Australia, New Zealand and Scotland for inspiration and for advice because Canada didn't have what they have."

Hicks says he hopes that a national strategy will put resources where they are most needed.

"Hopefully during the life of this government we will see a national strategy with an emphasis on the most at-risk parts of the population."

Hicks says a good suicide prevention strategy will take much more than mental health services.

"You have years of things that need to be worked on if you want to bring down the suicide rate," he says.

"There's all kinds of school curriculum, there's ASIST training [Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training], and if you want to take it to another level, there's housing conditions, there's the education system."

He adds that an effective national strategy pools the resources across the country, creates a centre of expertise, funds research and allows for the carrying out of pilot projects.

"For example, one could imagine perhaps the Nunavut government coming up with a work plan for a budget and implementation activities in the territory and taking it to the federal government and saying 'On the basis of a teenage suicide rate 40 times the national average, we're applying for emergency funding.'"

Hicks says good examples of these kinds of strategies can be found in Australia, New Zealand, United States, Wales and Scotland.

No one-size-fits-all solution

Experts in suicide prevention in Nunavut hope that a national strategy will direct much-needed resources to address the root causes of suicide, and factors such as housing, education and mental health services.

But above all, they don't want a one-size-fits-all solution to suicide prevention.

"When it comes to a national strategy, I'd really want to make sure that the messages from Inuit [about] suicide aren't lost or diluted," says Jasmine Redfern, the acting president of the Embrace Life Council.

"We are such a unique population with unique realities and needs."

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed agrees.

"Inuit suicide prevention is dictated by the way in which suicide presents itself in our society, which is a very different way than the way it presents in Canadian society at large," he says.

Obed says there's a need for a strategy specifically for Inuit.

"There are federal programs that are already in place, such as Aboriginal Head Start, that could be enhanced," says Obed as an example of programs that can help bolster protective factors against suicide such as early childhood development.  

Not re-inventing the wheel

"I'm expecting Trudeau and his people to be energetic in their first 100 days and do a lot of things that maybe don't cost a lot of money but which send a message that the tone of government would be different to suicide prevention," says Hicks.

For his part, Nunavut's MP-elect is optimistic about harmonizing the national plan with the various stakeholders.

"Let's bring everyone to the table and develop it together," says Hunter Tootoo.

"We made it very clear we're not going to do a national strategy in isolation. We're going to involve the territories and the provinces in the process."

The help from the federal government is welcome news to mental health advocates, but ultimately it is the territorial government that will be responsible for service delivery.

"I look forward to a national partner and ITK and our communities in particular that deal with this every day and the families that need support," says Paul Okalik, the minister responsible for suicide prevention.