Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this is a serious issue that is of major concern to many of us. The department has not done any formal studies on suicide. What we have done is held our sponsored regional and Territorial forums in the past, with community agencies and community leaders and interested individuals, to try to come to an understanding of some of the causes of suicide, and to try to formulate suggestions on how to tackle this significant issue, Mr. Speaker.
What those forums did identify were that some of the issues relating to suicidal behaviours were indicated to be: abuse, whether it was sexual abuse, spousal abuse, alcohol and drug substance abuse; conditions in housing; personal conditions of whether you were employed, what your personal relationships were with your peers and your family members, the past loss of maybe close family or friends. There are a whole multitude of factors that come into consideration in leading an individual to try to move to the drastic step of attempting to take their own lives, Mr. Speaker.
So what we found also, Mr. Speaker, from these discussions that were held, these issues that were brought up as possible causes or contributors to the possibility of suicide, they were very consistent with other studies that have been done by other jurisdictions, and nationally, for groups and formal studies that had taken place. We recognize that our circumstances are certainly no different except for the fact that our rates, Mr. Speaker, are significantly higher than the national standards. In fact, anywhere from 2 1/2 to 5 times the national average, depending on which year you compare suicide rates to. It continues to be an issue of great concern, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.