By Adam Berls

988 hotline

‘988 is promising hope, let’s deliver on it’: Doherty

Jul 25, 2023 | 1:47 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — Yesterday, the federal government made a funding announcement regarding the implementation of the 988 suicide hotline. The sponsor of the bill says that now it’s time to make it a reality.

955 days, that is how long it has been since Todd Doherty, Member of Parliament for Cariboo-Prince George asked for the House of Commons unanimous consent to pass his motion to bring 988 to Canada. 988 will be a national suicide hotline, set to launch on November 30. Yesterday, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Carolyn Bennett announced the funding of 156 million dollars over three years starting in 2023-2024, for the implementation and operation of 988.

Doherty said that he applauds the government for committing the funding, but the work needs to begin on the implementation on the hotline. He says that 988 is providing hope, and we need to make sure we deliver on it.

“We lose an estimated 12 people each day who die by suicide, a further 175 people attempt suicide. So those numbers are staggering, if you just multiply it by the thousand days that we’ve sat here now. That’s 12,000 Canadians that we’ve lost while we’re waiting for this, while the government’s had the will of parliament to get this done.” – Todd Doherty, MP for Cariboo-Prince George (CON)

To Your Health

To Your Health: Fibremaxxing

1h ago

city council

'Slap in the face': Senior citizens ask Council for equal support and Mayor pivots

10h ago

On Demand

December 15, 2025: CKPG News on Demand

12h ago

Stacy Ashton is the chair of Crisis Centre BC and is confident that when 988 launches on November 30, that staffing will be in place and the network will be ready to go to serve Canadians.

“This is the culmination of a lot of work that’s been happening in the crisis line sector for many, many years. This particular launch, the 988 launch of crisis centers across Canada, have been involved in the planning and figuring out how to make this work on such a on such a short timeline. The lucky thing is, is that crisis center folks are pretty resilient and move pretty fast. We’re confident we’re going to be able to have all the staffing in place and the network in place to support 988 as soon as it launches.” – Stacy Ashton, Chair, Crisis Centre BC

The Crisis Centre of BC is designed to provide help and hope to individuals and their work spans the spectrum of crisis support. Ashton says that their role is to help people in crisis stay in control of their lives.

“Any kind of crisis we can having somebody who’s kind of calm to talk things through with is a really helpful thing to have. Often after that, you don’t need to call police where you don’t need to call an ambulance. And of course, in the remote communities, those are the that can take hours to get to get service anyway.” – Stacy Ashton, Chair, Crisis Centre BC

If you are in crisis and need someone to speak to there is help available 24/7. Call 310-6789 or 1-800-784-2433.

—

Twitter: @AdamBerls

Email: Adam.Berls@pattisonmedia.com