The NNMH was invited to take part in a national consultation sponsored by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) on developing a national framework for suicide prevention. The Act states that the Government of Canada must establish a federal framework for suicide prevention that:
A. recognizes that suicide, in addition to being a mental health issue, is a public health issue and that, as such, it is a health and safety priority; and
B. designates the appropriate entity within the Government of Canada to assume responsibility for:
- Providing guidelines to improve public awareness and knowledge about suicide.
- Disseminating information about suicide, including information concerning its prevention.
- Making publicly available existing statistics about suicide and related risk factors.
- Promoting collaboration and knowledge exchange across domains, sectors, regions and jurisdictions.
- Defining best practices for the prevention of suicide.
- Promoting the use of research and evidence-based practices for the prevention of suicide
Contact by September 30 for voting members.
We will keep you in the loop on how this goes forward.