Inuit leaders call for national suicide strategy

Several Inuit organizations have joined forces to ask the federal government to create a national suicide prevention strategy, and to call on all authorities to seek new ways of preventing suicide among Inuit youth.

The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, its five member organizations, Pauktuutit, the National Inuit Youth Council, and the Ajunnginiq Centre at the National Aboriginal Health Organization have all endorsed the call, in a flurry of press releases coinciding with World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10.

They point out that the Inuit suicide rate, especially in Nunavik and Nunavut, has doubled over the past 10 years, despite all efforts to reduce it.

In 2002, the 15 communities of Nunavik had the highest rate of all: 82 per 100,000, followed by Nunatsiavut (the Labrador land claim settlement area) with a rate of 80 per 100,000, and Nunavut, with a rate of 77 per 100,000.

The suicide rate for the Inuvialuit of the Western Arctic is fairly low: 18 per 100,000, but still higher than the national rate of 13 per 100,000.

“A national suicide prevention strategy is needed, containing solutions specifically tailored for Inuit,” Jose Kusugak, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said in a news release.

Kusugak said Arctic regions need more mental health workers, more use of telehealth, better housing, and better education.

ITK, along with the National Aboriginal Health Organization, also points out that there are many undiagnosed mental health problems in northern Canada, because of the shortage of trained professionals.

The National Inuit Youth Council is calling for more community-based solutions that help young people find ways of enjoying life.