According to the most recent statistics on suicide rates in Canada (2007), put out by The National Public Health Institute of Quebec, Quebec still holds the highest number of suicides in Canada and Montreal has the highest number of suicides for large cities in Canada.
In 2008, 1103 individuals ended their lives by suicide in the province of Quebec. The majority of these suicides were in rural areas of Quebec, where the employment levels were high and access to government programs inaccessible by many. Julie Campbell, the president of The Quebec Association for Suicide Prevention says that one of the factors associated with not getting the help in rural areas is that many people do not have a car to get around.
It is much easier for people in Quebec City and Montreal to get access to the help they need as they are larger cities that are better equipped with employment programs and crisis intervention centers and have public transportation systems.
This week is Quebec’s Suicide Prevention Week, which was first launched 20 years ago. The goal of suicide prevention week has always been to help the depressed as well as the loved ones of suicide victims. The good thing is that the suicide rate in Quebec has dropped by 32 percent in the last 10 years.
Dr. Brian Mishara who is a psychology professor at the University of Quebec at Montreal and co-founder of the suicide prevention association, Suicide-Action Montreal, states that there are many reasons that could explain the drop in the suicide rate including overall higher employment rates and better access to support and suicide awareness programs.
Other experts are saying that the suicide prevention campaigns have had a large impact on the drop in suicide rate. Twenty years ago there were only a handful of suicide prevention centers in Quebec, now there are 33 of them.
The suicide teen rate has dropped by 12 percent each year in the last 10 years. However, men between the ages of 20 and 40 are the in the highest at risk group in the province. Sadly to say primary cause of death among men of this age group is suicide.
The spokesperson for the National prevention week, Nicholas Canuel, maintains the reason the rate among men is so high as compared to woman is because women tend to talk about their problems whereas men leave it all bottled up inside. They do not seek out help. They are caught up in a culture where they must maintain a macho image.
The good news is that even the suicide rate for this high risk group is on the decline by about 4 percent per year.
The Quebec Association for Suicide Prevention runs a 24-hour help line
1-866-APPELLE (277-3553).
Sources:
Suicide Prevention Week Marks 20 Years
Comments
I've know more suicides, or attempted ones, in my lifetime than I would want to and all of them were young people.
I was told long ago that suicide is a permanent solution to temporary problems. I'm glad I listened to that advice as a youngster. People need to know there is help for them. We just had a high profile suicide here in Dallas and I hope that it at least raises awareness.
I'm glad to know it's on the decline.
This is such an important topic, Carol! Having lost a nephew ten years ago to suicide, I can attest to the importance of a focus on the issue!
Figuring out the cause is really complicated. I can see that those out in rural areas can easily feel isolated. I wonder if there is a relationship to suicides and the seasons, with winter being harsher in that area.
Very good article. Well written.
I remember a trip our family took to Quebec many years ago and was dismayed to see so many run down shacks along the highway on the way through the province. I thought even then that life must be very difficult for them.
excellent article. Awarness about suicide is the first step. There is a stigma attached to depression and mental illness and suidice that makes it hard to deal with on a societal level
I lost my cousin when she was just 17... I can't understand what can actually flip inside the mind to actually go through with the act of suicide.. I'm too chicken to actually do it... though I have been to the point where I didn't want to wake up... wishing I could just go to sleep and not wake up.
I even thought about it 30+ years ago, when I was married to my first husband.
My daughter's lost one of her closest friends at age 20 (8 years ago), straight-A, pre-med student that nobody would ever have thought was a risk. When you're young and otherwise healthy, what could be more tragic than to feel so hopeless that you don't want to live?
Good news that they were able to lower suicide by such a large percentage. I had a friend who committed suicide; I was so angry at him! I still miss him, too.
Hopefully the drop in the suicide rate will continue. Even one suicide is too many.
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I have known people who have committed suicide and no, they weren't all young people. Some were adults. And they all were sad cases.
Suicide is always terribly sad for everyone involved. I'm glad to see Quebec's rate has dropped; hopefully, the rest of the world can learn something from Montreal's efforts.
:)
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