Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister of Health and Social Services. Do we presently have a suicide prevention strategy?
Thank you, Member for Yellowknife North. Minister of Health and Social Services.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Health and Social Services does not currently have a specific suicide prevention strategy. However, the Child and Youth Mental Wellness Action Plan contains commitment to develop a suicide prevention and crisis response network.
I would like to add, also, that part of the work includes funding to support community-based prevention activities and improve screening by implementing two standardized suicide risk assessment tools, one for adults and one for youth. These tools were rolled out this summer in 2019.
We also have the development of a coordinated approach to responding to suicide or other crises. This work currently is in process and will focus on a clear process for Health and Social Services system when a crisis occurs. A key piece of this process will be engaging with community impacted and taking our lead from them as to what supports they need.
Also, I would like to add the department also delivers a prevention program aimed at educating residents on the signs that someone may be thinking of suicide and how to connect them to resources. In addition, these programs are called Mental Health First Aid and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training. They are delivered across the Northwest Territories by the Health and Social Services authorities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I appreciate the Minister starting that question with a clear no, and I also appreciate that all of those programs are doing great work. I know that everyone in that department takes this issue seriously. Yet, our jobs as MLAs is to look at the larger pictures, to look at systemic issues, to make sure departments are not taking a siloed approach to an issue such as suicide. This is why the importance of government strategies are what we need to do our jobs. Will the Minister commit to developing a suicide prevention strategy in the life of this government?
Like I mentioned to the Member, we are looking at developing a suicide prevention and crisis response network.
I don't wish to get into a debate of semantics, but it is important to note that, in the GNWT, the word "strategy" has a very specific meaning. It is not the response program that the Minister is talking about.
However, I have another question for the Minister. It is important to address this, that we have all the information to do our jobs. My question for the Minister is: do we presently track suicide attempts in addition to suicide deaths?
When a Northwest Territories resident dies by suicide in another jurisdiction outside the Northwest Territories, we are notified that the person has died, passed away, but we are not notified with a formal notification as to the cause of death.
Thank you, Minister. Final supplementary, Member for Yellowknife North.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is clear that I am asking my questions out of the order in which I provided them to the Minister. It is important that we start tracking suicides in other jurisdictions, as many of our residents get lost once they head down south. But my question for the Minister was: do we presently track suicide attempts? Thank you.
We do track data regarding hospitalizations for self-harm but not for suicide attempts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I apologize to the Member for that. Thank you.
Thank you, Minister. Oral questions. Member for Yellowknife Centre.
