Prevent suicides

Page 5

Dear Editor:

An official inside the federal government once told me that the suicide cirsis in the First Nations communities of Nishnawbe Aski Nation was "the greatest failure of public policy in our lifetime." It was an apt description. During the past 10 years, our communities have been plunged into the worst crisis in our history, with hundreds of young people dead through suicide and no prospect of an end to the tragedy in sight.

The reality is that poor communities are less able to protect themselves from the effects of suicide. The problem of First Nation suicide is that it is now so huge-300 over the last 20 years.

However, this is a problem we can do something about. We need to develop a Rapid Suicide Response Initiative; to pre-position essential crisis response teams and resources to provide additional support to communities in times of need.

We can invest more in prevention and early warning. This is essential if our communities are to address crises before they evolve into full-scale emergencies. Prevention, particularly in relations to suicide, needs to be a special focus for Ontario's new relationship with First Nations.

We also want to see increased investment in long-term development. Our treaty partners need to address the fundamental problems of economic development in our communities. We must look at the bi picture issues, like treaty implementation, resource revenue sharing and land-use planning as investments in reducing community vulnerabilities.

Alvin Fiddler, deputy grand chief

Nishnawbe Aski Nation