SHARE ON: |
| |
| |
 |
 |
|
|
The Saskatchewan legislature passed a bill – which was defeated twice before – to establish a suicide prevention strategy in the province.
MLAs passed Bill 601 Friday. The bill was introduced by NDP MLA Doyle Vermette, who brought the bill forward in 2018 and 2019 before it was voted down by the government.
“Feeling like the heroes are family members that lost loved ones. That this is their victory, that the members in the assembly came together. It’s been a rough fight,” said Vermette.
When the bill was last voted down, Tristen Durocher decided to walk more than 600 kilometres from Air Ronge to Regina. Durocher held a 44-day ceremony on the grounds of the Legislative Building to raise awareness about high suicide rates among Indigenous people in northern Saskatchewan.
The bill mandates the Ministry of Health to start consultations with stakeholders, establish a suicide prevention strategy and report on progress annually.
The ministry will also be required to provide guidelines to improve public awareness about suicide and make information about suicide statistics and risk factors available, among other things.
“The bill brought forward by the members opposite is a very important one to the people of this province,” said Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Everett Hindley during Friday’s session.
“We’ve been a government that listens to Saskatchewan people and we heard that passing this legislation would be a meaningful step in supporting suicide prevention efforts across Saskatchewan.”
Passage of the suicide prevention strategy was influenced by Durocher’s march to the legislature last summer and MLAs were also touched by Walsh Acres MLA Derek Meyers’ loss of his daughter, Teigha, to suicide last fall.
“When Teigha was going through her struggles and ultimately lost her battle with mental illness and completed suicide, I didn’t know how to deal with it in a public aspect but it is important to have these conversations,” said Meyers.
“It’s important so that people who are struggling know that there are resources and that they aren’t alone. We are working for them and there is a community and 61 MLAs all coming together all to support them.”
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
4 pm |
| 16 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 21 KM/H
GUSTING TO 39 KM/H |
|
|
 |
5 pm |
| 15 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 20 KM/H
GUSTING TO 36 KM/H |
|
|
 |
6 pm |
| 14 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 19 KM/H
GUSTING TO 34 KM/H |
|
|
 |
7 pm |
| 11 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 19 KM/H
GUSTING TO 34 KM/H |
|
 |
 |
8 pm |
| 9 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 19 KM/H
GUSTING TO 33 KM/H |
|
|
 |
9 pm |
| 5 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 18 KM/H
GUSTING TO 32 KM/H |
|
|
 |
10 pm |
| 4 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 18 KM/H
GUSTING TO 31 KM/H |
|
|
 |
11 pm |
| 4 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: SSE 17 KM/H
GUSTING TO 29 KM/H |
|
 |
 |
 |
TODAY |
HIGH OF 16 ℃
LOW OF 0 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 12 ℃
LOW OF 1 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 13 ℃
LOW OF 0 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 16 ℃
LOW OF 7 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
 |
 |
FRIDAY |
HIGH OF 15 ℃
LOW OF 10 ℃ |
| MODERATE RAIN |
|
|
 |
SATURDAY |
HIGH OF 13 ℃
LOW OF 3 ℃ |
| MODERATE RAIN |
|
|
 |
SUNDAY |
HIGH OF 3 ℃
LOW OF -1 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
MONDAY |
HIGH OF 0 ℃
LOW OF -5 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
NOTHING MORE BEST TIMES 04:11 PM |
 |
 |
THE ANIX BLEACH 04:07 PM |
 |
 |
SHINEDOWN MACHINE GUN 04:03 PM |
 |
 |
THE PRETTY WILD ZERO POINT GENESIS 04:00 PM |
 |
 |
SMASH INTO PIECES MAN OR MACHINE 03:56 PM |
 |
 |
PAPA ROACH ALWAYS WANDERING 03:54 PM |
 |
 |
LOVERBOY TURN ME LOOSE 03:48 PM |
 |
 |
SHADOW INSIDE NEVER BLACK FALL 03:42 PM |
 |
 |
AD INFINITUM ANTHEM FOR THE BROKEN 03:37 PM |
 |
 |
LORD OF THE LOST GHOSTS 03:33 PM |
 |
 |