Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In light of increased incidents of suicide in my riding, I would like to take the opportunity to address the importance of mental health awareness.
Mr. Speaker, in my riding and throughout the NWT, we have some amazing counsellors in our health systems and have beneficial services for those affected by mental health or mental illness, but what is evidently lacking is awareness in the communities. In my riding, between the months of January and September, there have been six suicides and at least 34 attempted suicides that I am aware of. Six suicides in 10 months is unheard of in the past, and this truth is devastating; suicide should not be a regular occurrence. According to Stats Canada, the national average for death by intentional self-harm in 2013 was 11.5 per 100,000 population, while for the NWT, it was 17.8 for 100,000 population. There were only eight reported deaths by suicide that year. I can surely say those numbers have increased for the year of 2017.
Mr. Speaker, it has been unfortunate these suicides affect the entire community and not just those immediately related to the victim. What we need is more education and awareness of mental illness. I would like to see the community capacity built for dealing with mental illness, and there needs to be more local training. Members of communities require the education of telltale signs of mental illness, including depression and anxiety which can lead to suicide. There also needs to be training on how to aid someone who is contemplating suicide. This training would provide more accessible services and limited reliance on so many outside services.
Mr. Speaker, mental illness is most often very easily overlooked and coming forward upon experiencing depression and anxiety requires a lot of courage. Many people who deal with depression suffer silently. We need to educate our community members about the help that they have. We need to really let our constituents know that they are in safe spaces and can bring forth their ailments and know that they will get the support they need. There have been many cases where an individual will book an appointment with the counsellors but end up not attending. It is necessary to look at what is stopping those seeking counselling from going on in their scheduled appointments. I will have questions for the Minister of Health at a later time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.