Ottawa announces money for Indigenous mental health, suicide prevention

Two marchers in Cambridge Bay carry an Embrace Life banner during a World Suicide Prevention Day event in 2013. The federal government announced money June 13 for mental health resources in a number of Indigenous communities across the country, including in Nunavut. (FILE PHOTO)

The federal government announced money June 13 that is aimed at beefing up mental health supports in a number of Indigenous communities across the country, including in Nunavut.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $69 million to provide more resources to communities in Ontario, Manitoba and Nunavut to help them better cope with mental health needs and suicide crises.

“I have spent much of the last few months meeting with and listening to members of Indigenous communities, and the loss of life to suicide and the feelings of despair being felt in their communities – especially by their youth – is tragic and completely unacceptable,” Trudeau said in a June 13 release.

“We all need to work together to find effective, sustainable and culturally appropriate services and programs that address the very real challenges being confronted by these communities.”

Health Canada has yet to confirm what is specifically destined for Nunavut, but the $69 million will, in part, fund four crisis teams for communities identified as having the greatest need.

The money will also increase mental wellness teams from 11 to 43 in those affected communities, the release said.

The aid is targeted at communities that are located in rural, remote and isolated areas – essentially all of Nunavut – that are facing mental health and suicide crises.

The funding, which will be distributed over the next three years, also aims to help communities develop a more culturally-appropriate response to those crises, the prime minister’s office said.

A one-year short-term suicide prevention plan announced by Nunavut organizations this past spring calls for a mobile trauma response team providing counselling and healing in Inuit languages across Nunavut, along with the creation of a seven new family resource workers.

The June 13 announcement includes “close collaborations with Inuit partners” to develop a community-led suicide prevention approach, the release said, but offers few other details.

“I am thankful for the government’s funding for immediate and targeted wellness support in Indigenous communities,” said Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna in a June 13 tweet.

“The Government of Nunavut and our partners are committed, as always, to working together to end the suicide crisis in Nunavut.”

None of the new funding appears to be targeted at Nunavik, which has seen a higher than usual number of suicides and suicide attempts so far in 2016.