A suicide prevention bill first proposed by the MLA who serves Creighton, Denare Beach and other northern communities passed last week in the Saskatchewan legislature.
The provincial government passed Bill 601, the Saskatchewan Strategy for Suicide Prevention Act, on April 30. The bill calls for the provincial health ministry to create a Saskatchewan-wide strategy for suicide prevention, providing guidelines and making available information about suicide and suicide prevention. Work to begin the strategy must begin within 180 days of the bill’s passing, making the deadline October 27 of this year, with a second deadline coming in 2023 to for the health ministry to create annual progress reports on suicide prevention.
The private members’ bill was initially put forward by MLA Doyle Vermette, who represents Creighton, Denare Beach and all other communities in northeast Saskatchewan in legislature. The NDP MLA had put forward two other suicide prevention bills in the past, once in 2018 and once in 2019, which were both voted down by Saskatchewan Party MLAs.
“I can’t stop thinking of all the families over the last few years who have approached me to share their story of a child, a parent or loved one they’ve lost,” said Vermette in a Saskatchewan NDP news release.
“We told them we wouldn’t give up and we would keep pushing this government to do more, to be better, and to do the right thing. It was a long road to get here but really it’s those families that I’m thinking of right now.”
The bill and the issue of suicide prevention reached the forefront due in part to Tristen Durocher - the activist from Air Ronge garnered headlines last year for his Walking with Our Angels protest last year, walking from Air Ronge to Regina and setting up a protest camp on the grounds of the Legislature. Once there, Durocher held a 44-day hunger strike - one day for each Saskatchewan Party MLA who voted against Vermette’s 2019 bill. Vermette himself visited with Durocher during the last day of his protest.
Vermette said the bill’s ascent was a good start toward fighting the issue of suicide in Saskatchewan - particularly in northern communities - but that the work was not done.
“This is a good day, but this is just one of many steps needed to start to combat this crisis. We know that suicide and mental health is a leading contributing factor to Indigenous deaths in this province, especially in the north among our youth and we need to move quickly on this,” said Vermette.
“Now we need to ensure that this government follows through and begins to consult with those on the ground and gets the ball rolling on this as soon as possible.”
