Health committee  I would just add quickly that in Vancouver we run a program out of where I work called Concerned Others. That program is to support the friends and family members of people who may be suicidal or expressing suicidal ideation or have made an attempt. Again, if you have a national strategy and support for that, ideas like that, which are so effective, could be spread across the country—

Health committee  Oh, I'm sorry.

Health committee  If you're curious, I would also encourage you to look at Scotland's national suicide prevention strategy, which is called Choose Life. It has focused very specifically on strengthening resiliency and on populations at risk, but also particularly on reducing stigma by talking very openly about suicide and providing training and support to gatekeepers, the general public, clinicians and service providers, people who are working in substance abuse, and people who are engaged in any of the work around areas of vulnerability for the population.

Health committee  You mentioned data. We know that if we were able to provide data on risk, death, and the kinds of impacts on Canadians in a more timely fashion than we're currently able to do, and share that data all across the country, we could see changes in risk factors and in what was going on for people.

Health committee  In response to your question, Libby, I believe that the reason we need a national coordinating body is in order to specifically focus on suicide. Now, that's not to say that it isn't crucial that we work in cooperation with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, and indeed CASP is certainly doing that.

Health committee  Clearly, all of the things that CASP is hoping for will require funding, sufficient funds to transform our compassion into action. Our action must be guided by research evidence, practice, and lived experience, and it must be informed by current Canadian data about suicide rates, trends, and risks.

Health committee  Good morning, and thank you very much for allowing me to address the committee. As you are by now well aware, as many as 10 Canadians die each day by suicide, and these mostly preventable deaths devastate the lives of so many others. On that basis alone, our government should play a significant role in suicide prevention.