By Canadian Press with files from CKPG Today

Suicide prevention

Suicide prevention hotline launches in November

Jul 24, 2023 | 11:21 AM

As of November 30, Canadians in crisis can dial 9-8-8 to speak or text with a trained responder in English or French at a new suicide-prevention hotline.
Mental Health Minister Carolyn Bennett says the government will spend $156-million dollars over three years to help the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health launch and operate the hotline.
It has been almost three years since Cariboo-Prince George Conservative M-P Todd Doherty put forward a motion to establish a national suicide prevention hotline, which Parliament passed unanimously. Doherty wasn’t available for an interview Monday but released the following statement:

955 Days.

That is how long it has taken the Government of Canada to get to today’s 9-8-8 funding re-announcement.

Today, the Government of Canada’s made a funding re-announcement regarding the implementation of 9-8-8, the national suicidehotline 9-8-8 that will launch November 30, 2023, and will see $156 million over three years starting in 2023-24, for the implementation and operation of 9-8-8.

This funding was already announced in March of this year.

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955 days.

On December 11th, 2020, I asked the House of Commons for unanimous consent to pass my motion to bring 9-8-8 to Canada. All Members of Parliament supported the motion and nearly 1,000 days later Canadians are still waiting for 9-8-8. Our frontline agencies still have no more information on how these services will be provided.

All Canadians, regardless of their geographic location deserve access to critical mental health and suicide prevention services.

While this is a good start, critical investments for community-based mental health and substance use providers when callers are referred to their services were notably absent from today’s announcement.

I echo the Canadian Mental Health Association’s concerns that cost should not get in the way of care.

9-8-8 is providing hope, we need to make sure we deliver on it.