Mental health emergency keeps getting pushed aside
The declaration of emergency that occurred in early April on the reserve of Attawapiskat came as a shock to citizens across Canada. Between September 2015 and April 2016 there have been over 100 suicide attempts in the community of just over 2,000 people, according to CBC News. However, while the government has assembled a team to deal with the mental health crisis, the causative factors of the tragedy have received much less attention.
The federal government needs to prioritize helping those contemplating suicide, but they also must work to prevent such an epidemic from developing in the first place. This prevention model has to extend not only beyond crisis response but also beyond the entire medical system in order to address the conditions leading to such an unprecedented incidence of attempted suicides.
These factors include living conditions, which was previously brought into the international spotlight in 2011, as well as educational and economic aspects.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…this isn’t the first time that a crisis has occurred in Attawapiskat…[/pullquote]According to Health Canada, the indigenous youth suicide rate is between five and seven times higher than the rate for non-indigenous Canadians. The percentage of those completing post-secondary education is 16.3 per cent lower than non-indigenous and the unemployment rate is approximately twice as high as of 2015.
This isn’t the first time that a crisis has occurred in Attawapiskat either. This is the fifth declared emergency since 2006. With this sort of record it is sadly clear that this community, so in need of assistance, has been ignored by the provincial and federal governments for at least the past decade.
This crisis attracted news headlines for a few days and there has been next to nothing on the issue since. The lack of coverage about the ongoing suicide epidemic, and how our government has been addressing it, shows complete disregard towards the health and well-being of an entire segment of our population.
In addition to the lack of sustained attention that a situation like this is deserving of, the level of committed support by the various levels of government is, frankly, inadequate. While a mental health team and an additional $2 million of funding from the province has certainly helped, it is not nearly enough to develop a long term solution. It is more of a political maneuver by the provincial government than a real attempt to help these people—especially when you consider the fact that the Ontario government can find $4 million annually in their budget to pay the CEO of Hydro One, according to the Financial Post.
When questioned about the lack of support that communities like Attawapiskat are receiving, Ontario’s Aboriginal Affairs Minister, David Zimmer, issued a statement to The Toronto Star that said “the responsibility for conditions on reserves falls to the federal government.” While this may be true, it is no excuse for not doing everything in the ministry’s power to help such a desperate town. It is comments like this, as well as their lack of action, that show yet again the provincial Liberals complete ineptitude in prioritizing citizens’ health above their own agenda.
[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…a country such as Canada should not have communities where one out of 20 people attempt suicide.[/pullquote]While the federal government is working towards increasing funds allocated towards indigenous people, their support leaves much to be desired. According to Maclean’s, Prime Minister Trudeau is only now arranging a meeting with the Chief of Attawapiskat, almost a month after the news broke. And while the federal Liberals have pledged $8.4 billion towards native communities over the next five years, it is for all reserves across Canada. This number sounds good superficially, but it is still inadequate to resolve the issues that indigenous people are facing as it must be spread across all of Canada.
Attawapiskat is the proverbial canary in the coal mine; it is the first community to bring national publicity to the horrible outcomes that occur when when a community is so neglected by the government. In addition to Attawapiskat there are another 27 indigenous communities currently in a declared state of emergency in Ontario alone, many of them—such as Onigaming, and Bearskin Lake—dealing with similar suicide related emergencies themselves.
This suicide epidemic in Attawapiskat, as well as other indigenous communities, is a crisis that will require significant energy and a commitment from both the federal and provincial governments. Our governments need to realize the seriousness of this issue, sit down and work with indigenous community leaders to address the conditions that are creating this climate of suicide and improve the quality of life on reserves. At the end of the day, a country such as Canada should not have communities where one out of 20 people attempt suicide.