Government Must Prioritize First Nation Youth Suicide Prevention Funding

For Immediate Release:

September 5, 2008

WINNIPEG – The Conservative government must take immediate steps to prioritize funding for youth suicide prevention programs and address First Nations most in need, said Liberal Member of Parliament for Churchill Tina Keeper today.“There are communities in northern Manitoba in crisis,” said Ms. Keeper from the Liberal Party’s National Summer Caucus event being held in Winnipeg. “There are First Nations in the Churchill riding that are in dire need of support and the Conservative government has denied them funding for local proposal-based suicide prevention initiatives.”

According to Government of Canada data, suicide amongst First Nations youth is 5 to 7 times higher than the rate for all other Canadian youth. The Conservative government cut funding to important areas of crime prevention, policing and have not provided critical Suicide Prevention funding to many First Nations.

The Canadian Institute of Child Health suggests there are approximately 126 suicides per 100,000 First Nations male youth aged 15 to 24.

“The rate at which young children are taking their own lives is our country’s greatest humanitarian crisis,” added Ms. Keeper. “As a G8 country, Canada has both the knowledge and resources to put a swift end to this horrific tragedy. All that is needed is the political will and a good partner from the federal government.”

Earlier this summer, a group of First Nations people from the Island Lake area in Manitoba began a walk from their home community to the nation’s capital, Ottawa, to draw attention to communities in crisis and the need for the federal government to address youth suicide accordingly.

Garden Hill First Nation Chief David Harper who has also been vocal on this matter said, “The fact that Canada can turn its back on First Nations youth in crisis is incomprehensible. We face abject poverty and we have had cuts to our policing dollars, crime prevention programs, and also face a housing crisis. The tragedy of suicide reflects the hopelessness.”

The group walking from Island Lake is expected to arrive to Parliament Hill in mid-September.

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For More Information Contact:

The Office of Tina Keeper, M.P. Tel: 204-226-4959
Chief David Harper, Garden Hill First Nation Tel: (204) 330-7183

Photo captions:

Chief David Harper meets with Opposition Leader Stephan Dion in Winnipeg
Chief David Harper of Garden Hill meets with Churchill MP Tina Keeper