Nunavut needs special inquiry on suicide

BILL RIDDELL
Concerned Citizen and Elder

I am not writing this in any official capacity as the Fair Practices Officer or Rental Officer for Nunavut, nor is this submitted in my capacity as the chairperson of the Illitiit Society.

This is from me personally as a concerned and informed citizen of Nunavut.

In this past month, April 2004, there have been seven suicides, all male. Since April 20, we have suffered through five suicides, and six since April 18, 2004. The total for the first four months of 2004 in Nunavut now stands at 12, which is the same figure as last year at the same time.

The Chief Coroner of Nunavut has been reporting suicide statistics since the creation of Nunavut in April 1999. You can see from the statistics that for last year, 2003, there was a huge jump in the number of suicides, from 24 in 2002 to 37 in 2003.

At the present rate for the first quarter of this year, it appears as if all of our efforts to stop or prevent these suicides have failed, and by the end of this year there is a good likelihood that we will see the same number or more for the year 2004.

Many efforts have been made by people working in the care delivery system to train front-line workers in suicide intervention and prevention, but all these efforts are obviously not enough. I do not think that we know what we are doing.

What appears to be even more of a concern is that the ages of those who are killing themselves is no longer mainly in the 14-to-24-years age group. Now more older males are committing suicide.

In the past, the majority of suicides were done by hanging, however this past quarter has seen completed suicides by self-inflicted stabbing and one that was completed by personal stabbing and then burning. What a horrible and painful way to end one’s life.

Why is this happening? I suggest we just do not know, and we are afraid to ask.

I know that you are aware that the rate of suicide in Nunavut has always been eight or 10 times higher than the national average and it is definitely getting worse, not better. It is time to take notice.

I strongly urge that the Nunavut government consider assigning a special investigator to the Coroner’s Office to investigate every suicide and to report through the coroner his or her findings. We need to know why this is happening.

Another alternative to get to the bottom of all this is to establish a public inquiry that has all of the powers necessary to subpoena witnesses and to make a report to the Legislative Assembly on the findings of the inquiry.

We need to explore personal, family, community and systemic barriers that stand in the way of understanding and preventing suicides.

We cannot go another day without taking action. People’s lives are at stake.

Editor’s note: This guest editorial is adapted from a letter that Mr. Riddell sent to Premier Paul Okalik, Education Minister Ed Picco and Health Minister Levinia Brown on April 30. He has yet to receive a reply. As of Nunatsiaq News press-time this week, the number of completed suicides for 2004 had risen from 12 to 14.